Donna Byars
Donna Byars works with dreams and mythology. She is a sculptor whose materials are
often found objects; bones, wood, stone; and man-made artifacts that she transforms
and integrates into her assemblages. She builds large, site-specific land works as well
as small totems, collages, and sculptures.
She began showing outdoor sculpture with Max Hutchinson in 1986
and continued to work with him until his death in 1999.
Byars was an early member of the feminist gallery A.I.R. from 1976-1986 and remains
an Alumnae Member to this day.
Her work is in the permanent collection of the Chicago Art Institute as part of Nancy Spero’s curated collection and in the Sante Fe
Museum’s permanent collection in the collection titled, “Works that Have Lived with Lucy Lippard”.
After completing her degree at the University of Iowa and an additional two year scholarship from Parsons School of Design in New York
City, Byars set up her studio in a factory in Yonkers, NY. She moved to Accord, NY, in 1992 and began working from her barn.
“Somehow, in rural Accord, I have come full circle. I grew up in Iowa and spent summers on my grandmother’s farm. Memories of the light
in the barn at dusk, the deep mud, the spaciousness of the land, the stillness—have been my wellspring.”
Lawrence Alloway states that Byars is "an archaeologist of our own culture."
For More information:
New York University, The Fales Library and Special Collections, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, A.I.R. Archives, Box: 10, 1977
The Corning Museum of Glass, The Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library
MoMA, NYC, Franklin Furnace Artist File
National Gallery of Australia, Max Hutchinson 1925-1999, Date Range: 1958-1999, Reference Number: MS 70, Sculpture Fields (1984-1999)
Smithsonian American Art Museum/ National Portrait Gallery Library, Art and Artist Files
WorldCat no. 83964172
often found objects; bones, wood, stone; and man-made artifacts that she transforms
and integrates into her assemblages. She builds large, site-specific land works as well
as small totems, collages, and sculptures.
She began showing outdoor sculpture with Max Hutchinson in 1986
and continued to work with him until his death in 1999.
Byars was an early member of the feminist gallery A.I.R. from 1976-1986 and remains
an Alumnae Member to this day.
Her work is in the permanent collection of the Chicago Art Institute as part of Nancy Spero’s curated collection and in the Sante Fe
Museum’s permanent collection in the collection titled, “Works that Have Lived with Lucy Lippard”.
After completing her degree at the University of Iowa and an additional two year scholarship from Parsons School of Design in New York
City, Byars set up her studio in a factory in Yonkers, NY. She moved to Accord, NY, in 1992 and began working from her barn.
“Somehow, in rural Accord, I have come full circle. I grew up in Iowa and spent summers on my grandmother’s farm. Memories of the light
in the barn at dusk, the deep mud, the spaciousness of the land, the stillness—have been my wellspring.”
Lawrence Alloway states that Byars is "an archaeologist of our own culture."
For More information:
New York University, The Fales Library and Special Collections, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, A.I.R. Archives, Box: 10, 1977
The Corning Museum of Glass, The Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library
MoMA, NYC, Franklin Furnace Artist File
National Gallery of Australia, Max Hutchinson 1925-1999, Date Range: 1958-1999, Reference Number: MS 70, Sculpture Fields (1984-1999)
Smithsonian American Art Museum/ National Portrait Gallery Library, Art and Artist Files
WorldCat no. 83964172