Lee Ufan has been awarded the 32nd Wolfgang Hahn Prize by the Society for Modern Art at the Museum Ludwig, Cologne. His work will be acquired by and exhibited at the Museum Ludwig in 2026.
The South Korean artist Lee Ufan is known for his broad-brush paintings influenced by the Dansaekhwa movement and his sculptural installations featuring round stones and iron plates. The artist came to prominence in the late 1960s as co-founder of the Japanese minimalist Mono-ha movement, which moved away from representation and focused on the exploration of materials.
‘Lee Ufan has spoken about how his experiences with several exhibitions in Germany in the 1970s brought his work to the world stage’, said Mami Kataoka, director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and this year’s guest juror. ‘Over the course of his sixty-year career, he has explored the essential meaning of existence in all relationships that transcend East and West – without following Western modernism or retreating into Easter spiritual traditions.’
The Wolfgang Hahn Prize is awarded annually by the Society for Modern Art at the Museum Ludwig and aims to honour internationally recognised contemporary artists who are not yet as well known in Germany. Previous winners include Evelyn Taocheng Wang (2025), Francis Alÿs (2023), Haegue Yang (2018), Kerry James Marshall (2014), Pipilotti Rist (1999) and Cindy Sherman (1997).
The award ceremony will take place on 6 November 2026 at the Museum Ludwig. A presentation of the artist’s work will be on display at the museum from 7 November – 4 April.
Read more Lee Ufan and Claude Viallat in conversation with ArtReview Asia
