James Lee Byars Lived Here
4 June - 5 July 2009
Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, Venice
'The Angel', 1989, courtesy Michael Werner galler, Berlin, Cologne and New York; © Estate of James Lee Byars
Exhibition supported by the Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts, Michael Werner Gallery Berlin and New York, Turning Point South East and The University of Warwick
James Lee Byars Lived Here presents a group of major works by Byars in the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava in Venice, from 4 June to 5 July 2009. The exhibition has been organised by Milton Keynes Gallery, and curated by its former Director, Michael Stanley.
Byars was a truly international artist who led a nomadic lifestyle and was a regular commuter between America, Japan and Europe. For Byars the city of Venice represented the union of East and West and it was central to the development of his practice; he created many works and performances in response to the city’s rich artistic context and he kept a home there for most of his life.
Works in the exhibition bear a direct connection to the artist’s relationship to Venice. The most important of these is The Angel, (1989), which will be shown in its own gilded room at Palazzo Papafava. The Angel is an ethereal sculpture comprising 125 hand-blown Murano glass spheres, each fragile sphere formed by a single breath of the glass blower.
During the first week of the exhibition, a late performance work of Byars, Five Points Make a Man, will be realised in Venice. The concept of 'five points make a man' is one which Byars became increasingly fascinated with towards the end of his life - that an arrangement of five points of any kind corresponds to the five points or extremities of the human figure in the mind of the viewer. The public performances take place at 2pm on 4, 5 and 6 June. Admission is free.
The Angel and other works will be shown in the chapel at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in autumn 2009. www.ysp.co.uk. Exhibition supported by the Henry Moore Foundation.
Palazzo Pesaro Papafava
Calle de la Rachetta
Cannaregio 3764
30121 Venice
Admission free: Open daily 12 noon to 6pm
Location: Central Venice; a 3 minute walk from the Ca’ d’Oro vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal
To find out more about involvement of Milton Keynes Gallery staff and volunteers in the Parallax Venice activities visit: www.parallaxvenice.com
Turning Point South East is the consortium of organisations and individuals in South East England which is developing and implementing Arts Council England's regional plan for the visual arts. Milton Keynes Gallery’s James Lee Byars Lived Here exhibition is one of three projects from South East England being presented during this years Venice Biennale. Turning Point is Arts Council England's 10 year strategy for the visual arts published in 2006.
4 June - 5 July 2009
Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, Venice
'The Angel', 1989, courtesy Michael Werner galler, Berlin, Cologne and New York; © Estate of James Lee Byars
Exhibition supported by the Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts, Michael Werner Gallery Berlin and New York, Turning Point South East and The University of Warwick
James Lee Byars Lived Here presents a group of major works by Byars in the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava in Venice, from 4 June to 5 July 2009. The exhibition has been organised by Milton Keynes Gallery, and curated by its former Director, Michael Stanley.
Byars was a truly international artist who led a nomadic lifestyle and was a regular commuter between America, Japan and Europe. For Byars the city of Venice represented the union of East and West and it was central to the development of his practice; he created many works and performances in response to the city’s rich artistic context and he kept a home there for most of his life.
Works in the exhibition bear a direct connection to the artist’s relationship to Venice. The most important of these is The Angel, (1989), which will be shown in its own gilded room at Palazzo Papafava. The Angel is an ethereal sculpture comprising 125 hand-blown Murano glass spheres, each fragile sphere formed by a single breath of the glass blower.
During the first week of the exhibition, a late performance work of Byars, Five Points Make a Man, will be realised in Venice. The concept of 'five points make a man' is one which Byars became increasingly fascinated with towards the end of his life - that an arrangement of five points of any kind corresponds to the five points or extremities of the human figure in the mind of the viewer. The public performances take place at 2pm on 4, 5 and 6 June. Admission is free.
The Angel and other works will be shown in the chapel at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in autumn 2009. www.ysp.co.uk. Exhibition supported by the Henry Moore Foundation.
Palazzo Pesaro Papafava
Calle de la Rachetta
Cannaregio 3764
30121 Venice
Admission free: Open daily 12 noon to 6pm
Location: Central Venice; a 3 minute walk from the Ca’ d’Oro vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal
To find out more about involvement of Milton Keynes Gallery staff and volunteers in the Parallax Venice activities visit: www.parallaxvenice.com
Turning Point South East is the consortium of organisations and individuals in South East England which is developing and implementing Arts Council England's regional plan for the visual arts. Milton Keynes Gallery’s James Lee Byars Lived Here exhibition is one of three projects from South East England being presented during this years Venice Biennale. Turning Point is Arts Council England's 10 year strategy for the visual arts published in 2006.
James Lee Byars
4 April - 21 June 2009
Milton Keynes Gallery
'The Rose Table of Perfect', 1989; courtesy IVAM instituit Valencia d'Art Modern, Generalitat
(c) Estate of James Lee Byars
Exhibition presented in collaboration with the Kunstmuseum Bern
Exhibibiton supported by The Henry Moore Foundation and Triffic Films
Milton Keynes Gallery presents a comprehensive exhibition of work by the late artist James Lee Byars (1932 – 1997). Milton Keynes Gallery will also be presenting a complementary exhibition of work by the artist in Venice this summer at the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, during the 2009 Venice Biennale.
Byars was one of the twentieth century's most enigmatic artists. This exhibition presents a succinct overview of Byars’ practice, including sculptures, works on paper and film documentation of his performances. Bringing together many different strands from all the periods in his creative life, it provides an opportunity to engage with the remarkable richness and breadth of his work. The majority of works will be presented in the UK for the first time.
Byars questioned the boundaries between art and life as demonstrated through his prolific letter writing to his friends and compelling performances. Byars’ letters, sometimes imbued with gold dust, brought together everyday anecdotes with his idiosyncratic philosophical musings. In his performances and everyday actions, Byars dressed in incredible outfits made of fabric such as gold lamé and red silk. His performances focused on the fleeting and immaterial, for example, in 1972 Byars let a drop of perfume evaporate in the air in front of a department store in Bern (The Perfume Show). His constant articulation of man’s mortality is both poetic and profound.
The works selected for this exhibition come from the Kunstmuseum Bern’s recent survey exhibition of Byars’ work: "Im full of Byars" James Lee Byars - A Homage. Works include important loans from the Kunstmuseum Bern, the Toni Gerber Archive and the Hermann and Margrit Rupf Foundation; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and IVAM, Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia and Marie-Puck Broodthaers. The UK presentation will also be supplemented by additional loans from public and private collections.
To view a video of the James Lee Byars retrospective exhibition opening at the Kunstmuseum in Bern, click here.
4 April - 21 June 2009
Milton Keynes Gallery
'The Rose Table of Perfect', 1989; courtesy IVAM instituit Valencia d'Art Modern, Generalitat
(c) Estate of James Lee Byars
Exhibition presented in collaboration with the Kunstmuseum Bern
Exhibibiton supported by The Henry Moore Foundation and Triffic Films
Milton Keynes Gallery presents a comprehensive exhibition of work by the late artist James Lee Byars (1932 – 1997). Milton Keynes Gallery will also be presenting a complementary exhibition of work by the artist in Venice this summer at the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, during the 2009 Venice Biennale.
Byars was one of the twentieth century's most enigmatic artists. This exhibition presents a succinct overview of Byars’ practice, including sculptures, works on paper and film documentation of his performances. Bringing together many different strands from all the periods in his creative life, it provides an opportunity to engage with the remarkable richness and breadth of his work. The majority of works will be presented in the UK for the first time.
Byars questioned the boundaries between art and life as demonstrated through his prolific letter writing to his friends and compelling performances. Byars’ letters, sometimes imbued with gold dust, brought together everyday anecdotes with his idiosyncratic philosophical musings. In his performances and everyday actions, Byars dressed in incredible outfits made of fabric such as gold lamé and red silk. His performances focused on the fleeting and immaterial, for example, in 1972 Byars let a drop of perfume evaporate in the air in front of a department store in Bern (The Perfume Show). His constant articulation of man’s mortality is both poetic and profound.
The works selected for this exhibition come from the Kunstmuseum Bern’s recent survey exhibition of Byars’ work: "Im full of Byars" James Lee Byars - A Homage. Works include important loans from the Kunstmuseum Bern, the Toni Gerber Archive and the Hermann and Margrit Rupf Foundation; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and IVAM, Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia and Marie-Puck Broodthaers. The UK presentation will also be supplemented by additional loans from public and private collections.
To view a video of the James Lee Byars retrospective exhibition opening at the Kunstmuseum in Bern, click here.