James Lee Byars (1932 Detroit -1997 Cairo) was one of the 20th century's most unusual and elusive artist figures. The Kunstmuseum Bern is now devoting a large survey exhibition to this American artist.
James Lee Byars loved what was imaginary and fleeting, equating the ephemeral and the immaterial with the material and the everlasting. He was not just an artist, he was a magician, a visionary and a dandy who understood how to cast a spell over his audience.
He was always on the lookout for perfection. Byars often eschewed any kind of materialisation in his works - they were mostly short-lived performances. However, Byars also had a flair for beautiful, solid, gleaming ‘eternal materials‘ – for sandstone, marble, glass and gold. He created numerous sculptures and objects in an almost classical repertoire of forms – using elements such as the sphere, the circle, the gate or the column. Byars as well bombarded his friends and acquaintances with letters of all kinds, thus demanding constant attention. These writings testify to an incredible virtuosity and creativity.
James Lee Byars loved what was imaginary and fleeting, equating the ephemeral and the immaterial with the material and the everlasting. He was not just an artist, he was a magician, a visionary and a dandy who understood how to cast a spell over his audience.
He was always on the lookout for perfection. Byars often eschewed any kind of materialisation in his works - they were mostly short-lived performances. However, Byars also had a flair for beautiful, solid, gleaming ‘eternal materials‘ – for sandstone, marble, glass and gold. He created numerous sculptures and objects in an almost classical repertoire of forms – using elements such as the sphere, the circle, the gate or the column. Byars as well bombarded his friends and acquaintances with letters of all kinds, thus demanding constant attention. These writings testify to an incredible virtuosity and creativity.
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