Lee Ufan, late-summer solo show in Tokyo’s historic bathhouse gallery
Published on 08/31/2026 at 10:56 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Lee Ufan opens the late-summer program at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE in Tokyo with the solo exhibition Lee Ufan: Work on Paper / Sculpture. As SCAI THE BATHHOUSE states, the show runs from August 4 to October 10, 2026, with free admission in the former public bathhouse in Yanaka. SCAI THE BATHHOUSE exhibition page
The solo show in Tokyo
The exhibition Lee Ufan: Work on Paper / Sculpture gathers drawings and sculptures from the 1970s to recent years, underlining how the artist’s engagement with materiality spans paper and three-dimensional works. It is his first solo show with SCAI THE BATHHOUSE in four years, positioned as a concise survey of key phases.
Opening hours are 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, Tuesday to Saturday, with the gallery closed on Sundays, Mondays, national holidays and for summer recess from August 8 to 17, 2026. The exhibition is free of charge, reinforcing the gallery’s role as an accessible venue within Tokyo’s Yanaka neighborhood.
Exhibition & Show context
SCAI’s presentation coincides with major institutional shows by Lee Ufan at the San Marco Art Centre in Venice, Dia Beacon in New York and the Palais des Papes in Avignon, extending his visibility across Europe and the United States. Tokyo Weekender highlights the bathhouse show as one of seven must-see exhibitions in the city this August.
Curated selection focuses on charcoal and watercolor works on paper alongside sculptural pieces linked to the long-running Relatum series, giving visitors a condensed view of his thinking across media. The bathhouse architecture amplifies the dialogue between industrial iron, natural stone and the building’s own historical surfaces.
All news and background on Lee Ufan
For further reports on Lee Ufan’s exhibitions, market presence and museum projects, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers additional context across venues from Tokyo to Venice.
The work core in this show
On paper, Lee Ufan revisits ideas from series such as From Line, From Point, From Winds and With Winds, where repeated gestures and restrained brushwork foreground time and the tension between mark and blank space. Works from the late 1980s and 2000s emphasize resonance between a few strokes and surrounding untouched paper.
In sculpture, three Relatum works combine natural stones with iron plates or curved stainless-steel rods, keeping the artist’s arbitrary expression to a minimum. The juxtapositions evoke invisible forces between materials and invite viewers to sense relationships among thing, human and place.
Where the artist stands now
Lee Ufan’s practice currently unfolds between Japan, France and key institutional venues, with the Tokyo exhibition at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE in active run through October 10, 2026, and parallel large-scale projects in Venice, Beacon and Avignon underpinning his late-career visibility.
Key facts on Lee Ufan
- Artist: Lee Ufan
- Medium / Genre: Painting, sculpture and installation with conceptual focus
- Born: 1936, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea
- Place(s) of practice: Primarily active between Japan and France, with projects across Europe, the United States and Asia
- Active since: Late 1960s, with a pivotal role in the Mono-ha movement in Tokyo
- Key work groups: From Line, From Point, Relatum, With Winds
- Current/last exhibition: Lee Ufan: Work on Paper / Sculpture, SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, Tokyo, August 4–October 10, 2026
- Major collections: Dia Art Foundation (Beacon), Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), Museum Ludwig (Cologne)
- Awards: Wolfgang Hahn Prize 2026 (Museum Ludwig, Cologne)
- Next date: Currently no announced date in the 30-day window beyond the ongoing SCAI THE BATHHOUSE exhibition run
Frequently asked questions about Lee Ufan
Where is Lee Ufan currently on view in Tokyo?
Lee Ufan’s solo exhibition Work on Paper / Sculpture is on view at SCAI THE BATHHOUSE in Tokyo from August 4 to October 10, 2026, with opening hours 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, Tuesday to Saturday, and free admission.
What works are included in the exhibition Lee Ufan: Work on Paper / Sculpture?
The show brings together charcoal and watercolor works on paper from the 1970s onward alongside three Relatum sculptures combining stones with iron and stainless-steel elements, tracing key developments in his drawing and sculptural practice.
How does the SCAI THE BATHHOUSE exhibition relate to Lee Ufan’s international projects in 2026?
The Tokyo gallery show coincides with institutional presentations at San Marco Art Centre in Venice, Dia Beacon in New York and Palais des Papes in Avignon, forming a 2026 constellation of exhibitions that highlight seven decades of his work across painting and installation.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
