CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

In cooperation with the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, the Gemäldegalerie is presenting an intervention by the artist Lee Ufan in the Rembrandt Hall.

Born in 1936 in what is now South Korea, Lee Ufan is considered an important representative of global post-war art with his minimalistic style. Additionally, he has written philosophical texts influenced by his study of both Eastern and Western schools of thought. In his works, he repeatedly refers to European roots and deals intensively with the paintings of Rembrandt van Rijn.

Since 1968, Lee’s sculptures have consistently borne the same title: Relatum (Latin for relationship). In varying configurations, the artist seeks to create encounters and connections, particularly by bringing together different materials. In the sculpture Relatum – The Position 1 presented in the Rembrandt Hall, he has juxtaposed the processed, industrial product of steel with the natural texture of stone. Lee has thereby created tension between the materials, the surrounding emptiness, the room and the viewers. In the Gemäldegalerie, Lee’s sculpture has thus engaged in a multi-layered dialogue with the surrounding works by Rembrandt and his students.

Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with Velvet Barret (1634), an outstanding work in the Gemäldegalerie’s Rembrandt collection, is currently on display at the Hamburger Bahnhof and part of the exhibition “Lee Ufan”.