Yves Dana identifies the significance of two particular years in the development of his career: 1985, during which he decided to devote his career to sculpture; and 1996, which marks his first return to Egypt for the first time since his family’s exile. His early works, made in that interval, were cast metal abstractions that alluded to shapes common in machines or musical instruments. In Egypt, Dana became inspired by hieratic art, and as a result he simplified the shapes and surfaces in his work. During the visit, he began work on his famous “Stele” series of sculptures, which are modeled after the ancient upright stone slabs bearing engraved designs or inscriptions. Dana’s “Stele” similarly featured sculpted vignettes or glyph-like marks, and were fashioned from internationally imported stones.