At this year’s Venice Biennale, amidst the grandeur and spectacle that characterize the event, a quieter, more introspective dialogue unfolds at the Palazzo Loredan. Here, the works of two artists, James Lee Byars and Seung-taek Lee, born in 1932 on opposite sides of the globe, come together in a compelling exploration of parallelism and connection.
Curated by Allegra Pesenti, the exhibition serves as a continuation of a previous showcase in London, supported primarily by the Michael Werner Gallery and Gallery Hyundai. What sets this exhibition apart is its deliberate intertwining of Byars and Lee’s works, blurring the lines between their distinct artistic voices.
“Sometimes the conversations are eerily similar,” remarks Pesenti, offering visitors a glimpse into the uncanny resonance between the artists’ creations. Within the hallowed halls of the Palazzo Loredan, nearly 70 works find their home, carefully arranged amidst the scholarly ambience of the venue.
One cannot ignore the subtle interplay between materiality and the intangible, evident in pieces like Byars’s “World Flag” and Lee’s “Wind (Paper Tree).” The ethereal rustle of gold lamé echoes the delicate dance of white Mulberry Hanji paper, embodying the shared fascination with the ephemeral and the elemental.
Yet, it is in the realm of sensuality that the artists’ convergence becomes most palpable. From Byars’s opulent “Golden Divan” to Lee’s restrained “Hip” and “Torso,” a dialogue unfolds, exploring the tension between constraint and liberation. Pesenti orchestrates this exchange masterfully, juxtaposing works like Byars’s “Elephant” and Lee’s “Tied Book,” inviting viewers to ponder the constraints that shape both art and existence.
Central to Lee’s contribution is “Woman Sculpture of the World,” a bound testament to the absence of female voices in Korean art discourse. Through this work, Lee challenges the hegemony of the male gaze, rendering the text illegible, a potent critique of art’s historical marginalization.
Byars’s literary influences manifest in pieces like “The Poetic Conceit” and “Moonbook,” embodiments of knowledge and imagination crystallized in stone and glass. Together, they form a testament to the universal quest for understanding, transcending cultural and temporal boundaries.
The resonance of the exhibition with Venice itself is unmistakable, with Byars’s intermittent residency underscoring the city’s role as a nexus of cultural exchange. Gordon VeneKlasen reflects on Venice as a meeting point of East and West, a sentiment echoed in Byars and Lee’s convergence of perspectives.
For Lee, the dialogue with Byars represents a departure from the marginalization he has often faced in the art world. “I am excited to be in dialogue with James Lee Byars,” he shares, emphasizing the kinship he feels with an artist he has never met.
As visitors wander through the Palazzo Loredan, they are invited to contemplate the invisible threads that bind Byars and Lee across time and space. In their shared pursuit of the ineffable, these two artists remind us of the enduring power of art to transcend boundaries and forge connections that defy explanation.
“Invisible Questions that Fill the Air” stands not only as a testament to Byars and Lee’s artistic legacies but also as a celebration of the serendipitous encounters that enrich our understanding of the human experience. Until August 25, the Palazzo Loredan offers a sanctuary for introspection, where the echoes of two kindred spirits resonate through the halls, inviting us to ponder the mysteries of creativity and connection.