For biographical and background information see Acc. no. 1998.116 'Additional information'.

For further information on the 'From point' series see Acc. no. 2004.127 'Additional information'.

In drawings from the series 'From point' (Acc. no. 2004.297) and 'From line' (Acc. nos 2004.259-261 and 2004.298) created between 1972 and 1982, a decade of Lee Ufan's practice is encapsulated. In these five drawings the formal arrangement of marks according to a grid begins to loosen, as seen in the 'From line' drawing of 1982 (Acc. no. 2004.261). This work is a precursor to With winds (Acc. no. 1998.116) of 1990, a controlled elegy that culminates with the single brush mark resonating with the canvas in Correspondance 2001 (Acc. no. 2002.156).

The five drawings entitled From point and From line lucidly demonstrate the relationship between Lee Ufan's drawings and his series of paintings of the same name, of which the Queensland Art Galley owns a work from 1979 (Acc. no. 2004.127). 'It is said that all things in the universe originate from the point and return to the point. . . To be in existence is a point and to live is a line, so I too am points and lines.'(1)

On the significance of drawing in his practice, Lee Ufan says, 'drawing is not a means to train oneself to paint, nor is it the draft of a painting. On the contrary, drawing constitutes the very first, crude experience of creating a picture and displays the bones of a painting.'(2)

1. Lee Ufan, quoted in Fisher, Jean (ed.) Selected writings by Lee Ufan 1970-96, Lisson Gallery, London, 1996, p.117.

2. Selected writings by Lee Ufan 1970-96, p.46.

Note: The artist has spelt his name both as Lee Ufan and Lee U-fan.