Lee Ufan is a singular artist.

Few can convey infinity in a brushstroke or tease presence from the void, as he does. The source of his creativity stems from a childhood in which he was raised with strict Confucian ideals and schooled in poetry and calligraphy.

In the early Sixties, after moving to Japan to study philosophy at Nihon University, he emerged as a leader in the Mono-ha (“School of Things”) movement; an aesthetic theory that rejected Western modern art. The movement also explored the properties of natural and industrial materials, to show their dismay at the rampant industrialization of Japan.

In this episode of “Meet The Artists,” produced by Nowness and Art Basel, I brought a small crew to the 84-year-old master’s studio in Kamakura, Japan. In the approach and edit, I tried to emulate Ufan’s ascetic minimalism and capture his uniquely philosophical approach to art.

Director: Dan Buyanovsky

DP: Mikul Eriksson

AC: Yuka Mashiro

Producer: Yuumi Aoyama

Translator: Kayla Dahee Kim

Music: Flora Yin Wong

Edit/Color: Victor Ivanov

EP: Mike Sunda

Production: Push Japan

Thanks: Katie Metcalfe, Jim Demuth, Jeanne-Salomé Rochat