James Lee Byars (b. 1932, Detroit, Michigan, USA – d. 1997, Cairo, Egypt) began studying psychology and aesthetics, and between 1958 and 1967 he made frequent trips to Japan, where he worked on the relationship between Western rationalism and Eastern mysticism. Influenced by Marcel Duchamp, minimal art and Fluxus, but also by oriental culture, Byars’ work uses writing, performance, film, sculpture and drawing in hybrid forms that aim to create an effect of stupefaction, between derision and solemnity. His favorite colors – gold, red, black and white – give a poetic and mystical dimension to creations and performances that articulate art and life turned towards the quest for the sublime and perfection. His first solo exhibition was held in the fire escape of the MoMA in New York in 1958.  He performed at the Bern Museum of Fine Arts, the starting point for other exhibitions throughout Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, Geneva, London, Paris, Cologne, Venice, Brussels, Marseille…