Matthew Barney
1967–
Since the late 1980s Matthew Barney has employed a range of mediums, including film, video installation, drawing, and sculpture, to address themes such as the limitations of the body, androgyny, eroticism, and ritual. A former athlete, Barney has maintained an interest in bodily transformation that is conveyed through a sophisticated and idiosyncratic visual language. In the earliest works in his DRAWING RESTRAINT series, begun in 1987, the artist illustrated the principle of hypertrophy (muscles growing stronger in response to resistance) by fashioning restraints, challenges, and experiments for himself in his studio— “facilities to defeat the facility of drawing,” as he put it. As the series progressed, the imagery became increasingly elaborate, from the film sets, narratives, and costuming to the physical feats performed.
For the video installation DRAWING RESTRAINT 7, Barney created three horned and cloven-footed satyrs—characters played by two actors and the artist himself wearing sculpted prostheses and professional makeup—whose actions and interactions build in fantastical and libidinal scenes that reference Greco-Roman mythology and the ancient sport of wrestling.
Most of the action takes place within the confines of a limousine bathed in otherworldly neon light, where the satyrs attempt to make images in the condensation on the vehicle’s sunroof. In other scenes the two mature satyrs battle to remove each other’s horns with strange instruments, while the kid, played by Barney, engages in an endless struggle to catch his own tail. DRAWING RESTRAINT 7 was included in the 1993 Whitney Biennial and established new approaches to art making at the end of the twentieth century.
Introduction
Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well as notable themes of sex, intercourse, and conflict. His early pieces were sculptural installations combined with performance and video. Between 1994 and 2002, he created The Cremaster Cycle, a series of five films described by Jonathan Jones in The Guardian as "one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-garde cinema." He is also known for his projects Drawing Restraint 9 (2005), River of Fundament (2014) and Redoubt (2018).
Wikidata identifier
Q451185
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed July 9, 2025.
Introduction
Known for his highly symbolic, visually lush films such as the 'Cremaster' series. Included in the 1995 Whitney Biennial and the 1993 Venice Biennale. American artist, NYC.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, actor, cinematographer, environmental artist, installation artist, painter, performance artist, photographer, sculptor, video artist
ULAN identifier
500114761
Names
Matthew Barney
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed July 9, 2025.
