Curated by Jessica Morgan, director of the Dia Art Foundation, the exhibition at SMAC Venice will occupy eight galleries in the Procuratie along Piazza San Marco and feature around 20 works ranging from the late 1960s to new pieces created for the occasion. It includes historical and recent paintings alongside large-scale installations and a site-specific commission developed in close collaboration with the 90-year-old artist. The presentation reflects Lee Ufan’s ongoing dialogue with architectural spaces while creating environments that encourage viewer reflection and awareness of materials and intervals.
The show coincides with Lee Ufan’s 90th birthday in June 2026 and runs concurrently with a new display of his paintings and sculptures at Dia Beacon in New York. Born in 1936 in what is now South Korea, Lee emerged as a key theorist and practitioner of the Mono-ha movement in Japan during the late 1960s while also contributing to Korea’s Dansaekhwa monochrome painting tradition. His practice emphasises encounters between natural and industrial materials, often leaving them in states that highlight their inherent properties rather than imposing artistic intervention.
Morgan described the exhibition’s focus on tracing the conceptual arc of Lee’s painterly works in an interview with The Art Newspaper. “I felt that what has been missing is a story of the trajectory of his work. He’s an artist philosopher, a thinker, and I would say his movement through the different series of painterly works has been very clearly conceptualised,” she said. The display will include sculptural pieces such as Relatum, formerly known as Iron Field, a 1969/2019 work consisting of a bed of sand with hundreds of hand-placed iron rods that evokes both natural landscapes and industrial forms.
Dia Art Foundation has maintained a long-term relationship with Lee Ufan, whose works are held in numerous international collections including those at Dia itself. The Venice presentation marks the most significant exhibition of his output in Italy to date and aligns with the artist’s history of site-specific installations that respond to their surroundings. Significant support for the project comes from the Samsung Foundation of Culture, Pace Gallery and Mennour.
The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled In Minor Keys and curated under the late Koyo Kouoh’s concept, features national pavilions, central exhibitions and roughly 30 collateral events across the city from May 9 to November 22, 2026. Lee’s exhibition is one of 31 officially recognised collateral events announced earlier this year that complement the main programme at the Giardini and Arsenale. Organisers position these satellite shows as integral extensions that broaden the Biennale’s exploration of contemporary artistic practices.
Lee’s philosophy centres on notions of encounter, balance and the interplay between made and unmade elements, informed by his studies in philosophy and East Asian aesthetics. He has exhibited in Venice previously but views this Biennale-linked presentation as both challenging and rewarding. A separate interview published by The Art Newspaper quoted the artist on his intent to maintain his distinctive stance amid the event’s overarching theme.
