lee ufan is a korean minimalist painter and sculptor artist and academic, honored by the government of japan for having "contributed to the development ofcontemporary art in japan." the art of this artist, who has long been based in japan, is rooted in an eastern appreciation of the nature of materials and also in modern european phenomenology. the origin of mono-ha may be found in lee‘s article "sonzai to mu wo koete sekine nobuo ron (beyond being and nothingness – a thesis on sekine nobuo." once this initial impetus given, mono-ha congealed with the participation of the students of the scul…