Galerie Dina Vierny is delighted to present the exhibition Byars/Sarin from 19 March to 30 May 2026 at its Rue de Seine gallery. Here, two generations of artists engage in dialogue for the first time, united by a shared fascination with the ritual dimension of art and its ability to forge a connection with the sacred.

The exhibition forms part of a reflection on contemporary forms of the sacred and the persistence of ritual in sculptural practices, bringing together two approaches which, through their differences, shed light on shared concerns. Their dialogue gives rise to a field of fruitful tensions, where form, the ritualisation of gesture and an examination of the very conditions of the work’s emergence intersect. Shaped by distinct historical and artistic contexts, each artist’s work bears witness to a quest for essential and primordial forms, where the legacy of the past resonates with contemporary sensibilities.

James Lee Byars (1932–1997) sought absolute perfection through pared-back works, in which the notions of disappearance and inaccessibility confer an almost mystical aura upon the object. His minimalist and conceptual language evokes timeless archetypes, playing on the ambiguity between presence and erasure. Crafted from precious materials, his works establish an almost mystical relationship between the object, the space and the viewer.

Edgar Sarin (born 1989), for his part, is interested in the persistence of forms and their reactivation in a contemporary context. Rather than erasing the traces of the past, he integrates them into a process of transmission, questioning how ancient symbols can still carry meaning today. Wood, clay, stone or beeswax become the mediums for a reflection on the memory of forms, transmission and the slow transformation of matter. His work also evokes the dimension of the anonymous and naïve gesture, akin to certain votive traditions: like ex-votos, these simple forms carry within them a symbolic and spiritual charge, as if in an attempt to rise up or reach towards the heavens. He thus reactivates ancient archetypes within a contemporary dynamic, straddling sculptural archaism and ritual gesture.

Both share an approach in which the work transcends its mere materiality to become a space for reflection and revelation, oscillating between enigma and obviousness, permanence and transience. The dialogue between the two artists around essential forms and ancient references thus invites the visitor to a contemplative experience, between presence and disappearance, permanence and invisibility.

BIOGRAPHIES

James Lee Byars (1932–1997)
A leading figure in the conceptual and minimalist art scenes, James Lee Byars developed a unique body of work combining performance, sculpture, drawing and installation. Based primarily in the United States and Europe, he was deeply influenced by Eastern philosophy and the aesthetics of the sacred, pursuing a radical quest for perfection and the absolute. His work, recognised for its ritual and conceptual dimensions, features in numerous international collections, notably at the Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA and the Centre Pompidou.

Edgar Sarin (born 1989)
Edgar Sarin lives and works in Paris. His sculptural practice focuses on the persistence of forms and collective memory, seeking to highlight the anonymous and simple gesture, akin to certain folk or votive traditions, where emotion and intention lie at the heart of the creative process. In 2016, he was awarded the EMERIGE Revelations Prize. In 2024, he received the Pierre Cardin Prize for Sculpture awarded by the Académie des Beaux-Arts – Institut de France. That same year, two of his works were acquired by the Centre Pompidou, and he unveiled his first permanent public commission: a monumental bronze installed in the city of Le Havre.

Edgar Sarin’s works feature in numerous institutional collections, including the Musée Maillol, the Collection Lambert and the Zhi Art Museum in Chengdu, China.

Galerie Dina Vierny extends its warmest thanks to the Michael Werner and Michel Rein galleries for their invaluable assistance in bringing this exhibition to fruition.