Lee Ufan is the Latest Artist to Add to the illy Art Collection
Earlier this month, illycaffé introduced the newest edition of the illy Art Collection by artist Lee Ufan, debuting during Frieze London. Ufan is the latest collaborator in an initiative that dates back to 1992, wherein artists are invited to add their flair to a set of the Italian coffee brand’s signature espresso cups designed by Matteo Thun. The artist joins past illy Art Collection collaborators like Ai Weiwei, Michelangelo Pistoletto, William Kentridge, and Marina Abramović.
“We are very pleased that we have created this illy Art Collection with Lee Ufan, an artist who has conquered us for his ability to describe complex concepts through the essentiality of the traits,” said Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè. “By designing these cups the artist wanted to ideally offer us the physical and temporal space to dedicate to people and to the environment that surrounds us, a coffee break to live with the simplicity that his artistic thought transmits to us.”
Lee Ufan’s illy Art Collection, courtesy of illycaffé.
Working with Reductionist Principles
Born in Korea and based in Japan, Lee Ufan is noted for his contributions to the Mono-Ha avant-garde movement, which came about in 1960s Tokyo and focuses on nature and the study of raw and manufactured materials. Noted as a leader in post-minimalism, Ufan’s work is fueled by a quest for essentiality, which the artist achieves through an almost meditative process that reveres the act of creation as art itself. His reductionist approach has yielded a body of work in a pared-down aesthetic that carries underlying philosophical musings and suggestions that invite viewers to see “the world as it is.”
Lee Ufan’s illy Art Collection is Simple but Intentional
For the collection, the artist has applied this same approach to the set of two cups and saucers, available in espresso and cappuccino sizes and can be purchased online. Each cup bears a simple but intentional brushstroke, one in blue and one in red, made to savor the encounter between the brush and its canvas. With this approach, Ufan reminds the user of the importance of moderation, simplicity, and savoring the moment.
“The brushstroke with which I created the illy Art Collection express relationships and their complex nature, which we must simplify in order to grasp their true energy and power,” said Lee Ufan. “Connections that are also created thanks to a cup of coffee and the ritual that has been built around human relationships, developing moments of meeting and true socialization.”
Lee Ufan’s illy Art Collection, courtesy of illycaffé.
