James Lee
Byars
James Lee
Byars
Byars
American, 1932 — 1997
Synthesis of several movements – orientalism, conceptual art, minimalism, Fluxus –, the work of James Lee Byars takes different forms: sculptures, works on paper and performances are also media through which he questions the boundaries between art and life. The last three years of his life have been interspersed with symbolic and metaphorical works, evocative of a unique relationship to the self.
In Japan, where he has lived for the past 10 years, Byars discovered the concept of the ephemeral and its sensory and symbolical qualities that nourish his art and complement his Western philosophy. An artist whose life and work are inseparable, he stages his private life and even his own death, which he knows is near after being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1990.
The work of James Lee Byars was first presented by the Pinault Collection at the “Prima Materia” exhibition at the Punta della Dogana, Venice.
In Japan, where he has lived for the past 10 years, Byars discovered the concept of the ephemeral and its sensory and symbolical qualities that nourish his art and complement his Western philosophy. An artist whose life and work are inseparable, he stages his private life and even his own death, which he knows is near after being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1990.
The work of James Lee Byars was first presented by the Pinault Collection at the “Prima Materia” exhibition at the Punta della Dogana, Venice.
