Galerie Dina Vierny is pleased to present the exhibition Byars/Sarin from March 19 to May 30, 2026, at its Rue de Seine space. Two generations of artists enter into dialogue here for the first time, brought together by a shared fascination with the ritualistic dimension of art and its capacity to forge a connection with the sacred.

The exhibition is part of a reflection on contemporary forms of the sacred and the persistence of ritual in sculptural practices, confronting two approaches which, through their differences, shed light on common stakes. Their dialogue brings forth a field of fruitful tensions, where form, the ritualization of gesture, and an inquiry into the very conditions of the work’s appearance intersect. Shaped by distinct historical and artistic contexts, each artist’s work bears witness to a quest for essential and primordial forms, where the heritage of the past resonates with contemporary sensibility.

Edgar Sarin (born 1989) is interested in the persistence of forms and their reactivation within a contemporary context. Rather than erasing the traces of the past, he integrates them into a dynamic of transmission, questioning how ancient symbols can still carry meaning today. Wood, clay, stone, and beeswax become the mediums for a reflection on the memory of forms, transmission, and the slow transformation of matter. His work reactivates ancient archetypes within a contemporary dynamic, positioned between sculptural archaism and ritual gesture.

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

BIOGRAPHIES

James Lee Byars (1932–1997)
A major figure on the conceptual and minimal scene, James Lee Byars developed a singular body of work blending 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, renowned for its ritualistic and conceptual dimension, is featured in numerous international collections, including 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, collective memory, and artisanal craftsmanship, which he explores through raw materials integrated into arrangements that are both sensitive and rigorous. In 2016, he was the recipient of 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 entered the collections of the Centre Pompidou, and he inaugurated his first permanent public commission: a monumental bronze installed in the city of Le Havre.
Edgar Sarin’s works are included in numerous institutional collections, such as the Musée Maillol, the Collection Lambert, and the Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium.

Galerie Dina Vierny would like to warmly thank the galleries Michael Werner and Michel Rein for their invaluable assistance in the realization of this exhibition.