James Lee Byars was born in Detroit in 1932. An early interest in sculpture and oriental art took him to Japan and the far East before returning to Europe and creating a strong body of work which might be regarded as “romantic minimalism”. By the 1970s he was regarded as one of the USA’s most important conceptual artists.
He was best known for a series of slight performance art actions (such as giving a brief smile to the world after emerging from a museum window) as well as very large and very small sculptural works. The use of paper (and particularly unusual papers) in editions and printed material was also a regular motif. Some of Byars’ works are just a few millimetres in size, others were the size of entire streets.
Byars also created unique letters for many of his friends and these constructions – often written in an unusual “starry” hand – are usually regarded as unique works by the artist on par with his sculptures. They are keenly collected.
Byars suddenly died in Cairo in 1997. His grave is a simple one – and its monument does not match the artist’s pure aesthetic – a final irony.
Six different 24×14 cm thin sheets of wood veneer with the formula 4 * 5 = 20! in Byars’ starry writing using red ink. A unique work – mounted in a glass and wooden frame. Please note: this work is found reproduced on some other dealer’s websites despite the fact we have owned it for over 12 years, exhibited it publicly and have asked them to take it down!
Amsterdam: Art Unlimited, 1994 10.5 x 15cm, 2pp artist postcard - here a field of yellow chicks on the front in colour which according to the card is a work "Untitled" by Byars however this seems unlikely and is probably a parody/joke. Included here as a curiosity - any information on this card would be gratefully received. VG+.
Koln: Art-Station Sankt Peter, 1995 21 x 21cm, closed side – which opens up to a 63 x 63cm four winged cross. The white card has blind embossing and additionally printing in white/cream so that the text is very hard to read. The text is by Heinrich Hall. Found within the folded construction is a 10.5 x 15cm, 2pp map of the exhibition and short texts about content. Fine condition – this was both print edition and exhibition catalogue at the same time.
Bremen. Neues Museum Weserburg, 1995 21 x 21cm folder which opens out to a cross. White card. 56pp inserted sheets and booklets in envelopes. The catalogue raisonne for Byars’ books, editions and ephemera. CD mounted inside. One of 1,200 copies. Fine.
