James Lee Byars (*1932 in Detroit , † 1997 in Kairo) was one of the 20th century's most unusual and elusive artist figures. A commuter between America, Japan and Europe, Byars has a particular affinity with Bern. The Kunstmuseum Bern is now devoting a large survey exhibition to this artist.

 







James Lee Byars
Come and stand on this stone and blow
your soul Eröffnungsperformance
der Ausstellung "Die Gleichzeitigkeit
des Anderen" am 21.03.1987 vor dem Kunstmuseum Bern auf:
The Breath of The Soul,
1987 Kunstmuseum Bern
© Photo: Alexander Egger, Bern
© Estate of James Lee Byars;
Courtesy Galerie Michael Werner,
Köln und New York

James Lee Byars
Der Rosentisch des Vollkommenen, 1989
3333 Rote Rosen, Styropor,Ø 100cm
IVAM, Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia
© Estate of James Lee Byars; Courtesy Galerie Michael Werner, Köln und New York

The search for perfection
James Lee Byars was not just an artist, he was a magician, a visionary and a dandy. He knew how to put his audience under his spell. Byars bombarded his friends and acquaintances with letters of all kinds, thus demanding constant attention, sometimes without ever having got an answer. These writings testify to an incredible virtuosity and creativity.
"Im full of Byars" will facilitate a survey of the work of an artist who was constantly searching for perfection (The Perfect), who equated the ephemeral and immaterial with the material and permanent, and whose work has forfeited nothing of its mystery and poetry to this very day.

A Homage at the Kunstmuseum Bern
For the first time the Kunstmuseum Bern will provide insight into surely the largest collection of letters and documents from the Toni Gerber collection, which was donated to the Kunstmuseum Bern (1986 and 1996). Moreover, the exhibition will include a precise selection of sculptures and room installations from all the periods in Byars' creative life. The presentation will be complemented by works from the stocks of the Kunstmuseum Bern (from the Toni Gerber donations and the Hermann and Margrit Rupf Foundation) as well as numerous works on loan from private and public collections.

 











James Lee Byars
The pedestal for perfect, 1978
Sandstein, blattvergoldet
H 164 cm, D 34,8 cm
Kunstmuseum Bern, Hermann und Margrit Rupf-Stiftung, aus der Sammlung Toni Gerber, Bern
© Estate of James Lee Byars; Courtesy Galerie Michael Werner, Köln und New York

Supported by:


Annemarie Burckhardt, Basel
Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung
Loeb AG
Prolith AG
Alfred Richterich-Stiftung
Embassy of the United States, Berne

The Exhibition
Opening
Thursday, September 11 2008, 18h30

Duration
12.9.2008 - 1.2.2009

Curator
Susanne Friedli

Entrance Fee
CHF 14.- / red. CHF 10.-

> Download Flyer James Lee Byars (pdf)  




The Catalogue (German / English)


Mit Beiträgen von Thomas McEvilley, Viola M. Michely, Peter J. Schneemann / Nicola Müllerschön, Susanne Friedli. Kerber Verlag Leipzig, ca. 250 Seiten. ISBN-Nr.: 978-3-86678-155-9
Preis: CHF 58.-*




The Poster

"Im full of Byars". James Lee Byars - Eine Hommage
 F4 (89,5 x 128 cm)
CHF 20.-*





 
* all prices excl. postal fees / shippping fees, incl. MWST

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