Matthew Barney, the most influential director and artist of the contemporary era, held a solo exhibition "Redoubt" at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art at the end of September. The latest series created between 2016 and 2019 will be exhibited, the exhibition period from September 28 this year to January 12 next year.
Matthew Barney, born in San Francisco in 1967, grew up in Boise, Idaho. In 1985, he was recruited by Yale University to play football and studied at the medical school, then he planned to study art because he found that Yale University full of talents, you can not only learn one skill. Matthew. Barney's artistic creations include sculpture, film, photography, painting, besides his experience as an athlete, model, and medical background, make his creation use the human body as a theme to express artistic concepts and forms and then combine elements such as geography, biology, biology, geology, and mythology, created many classic works that make the audience feel mysterious, confused, weird, creepy, and sometimes disgusting.
Cremaster Cycle, Matthew Barney's most famous and classic work. 'Cremaster' is derived from the male genital Cremaster muscle, which controls the lifting and contraction of the testicles. Cremaster Cycle was created between 1994 and 2002 with five feature-length films that tells the process of gender from scratch. From Cremaster 1 that the asexual sign before the embryo matures to Cremaster 5 that the sexual characteristics that appear after the maturity, the whole work explores sexual differentiation, psychological identity and mythology. Another famous work is "Drawing Restraint 9", which he co-created with Icelandic singer Björk in their 10-year marriage. Matthew Barney has also won numerous awards, including Europa 2000 Prize, Aperto in 45th Venice Biennale; Hugo Boss Prize in Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; the Goslar Kaiser Ring Award in Mönchehaus Museum für moderne Kunst; Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award, 54th San Francisco International Film Festival.
The strong style and characteristics of his work have always caused him great controversy in society. Some people compare him to Chris Burden and Vito Acconci, thinking that his work is a vulgar art that attracts the eye but ignores the psychological feelings of the audience, but some people appreciate his imagination and creativity and admire him as the representative of the surrealism. However, in any case, Matthew Barney's influence on contemporary art cannot be underestimated. Remember that Lady Gaga`s red-chip global song "Bad Romance", it's MV makes many people think that feeling like Matthew Barney.
Matthew Barney has exhibited at art institutions around the world, including Haus der Kunst; Museum of Old and New Art; Museum Of Contemporary Art; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Museum Ludwig; Musée d'art Moderne National; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art; Leeum Samsung Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Kunsthalle Wien.
In addition to the latest series of works, the "Redoubt" exhibition also features a film of the same name, which tells the story of wolf hunt in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountain range. There is no dialogue in the film. The conversion of the story is presented in dance, and the myths and legends related to hunting are combined with artistic creation. In addition, the exhibition also exhibited five giant sculptures related to the film, more than 50 engravings and electroplated copper plates, and an artist-conceived catalog works by artists. After the UCCA exhibition, it will be presented at the Hayward Gallery in London in 2020.
Matthew Barney “Redoubt”
Date: 28 September 2019 – 12 January 2020
Venue: Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
Figure 1：Matthew Barney, Cremaster 4, The Loughton Candidate © 1995 Matthew Barney
Figure 2 top left：Matthew Barney, Cremaster 1, Goodyear © Matthew Barney
Figure 2 top right：Matthew Barney, Cremaster 3, The Order © Matthew Barney
Figure 2 left bottom ：Matthew Barney, Cremaster 1, Goodyear Chorus Girls © Matthew Barney
Figure 2 right bottom：Matthew Barney, Cremaster 5, Her Giant © Matthew Barney
