The Hunter and the Hunted

Matthew Barney, Yale Art Gallery

Cover Image - Matthew Barney, "Redoubt," 2018. Production still. © Matthew Barney, courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels, and Sadie Coles HQ, London. Photo: Hugo Glendinning. Header Image - Matthew Barney, Detail of "Redoubt: Base Plate Conductor," 2018. One electroplated copper plate with vinegar patina and seven engravings, on asphaltum ground in copper and charred pine frames. © Matthew Barney, courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels.

BY: PROVOKR Editors

Matthew Barney’s epic video sagas have come to define his career, but over the years he also has expanded his oeuvre with complimentary narratives in sculpture, printmaking, and photography. In his latest body of work at the Yale University Art Gallery, Barney has returned to his alma mater to display a new series called Redoubt. Along with a phenomenally produced video series, electroplated etchings and sculptures accentuate a story of mythical roots and proportions.

Redoubt is comprised of six parts shot in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Barney uses this epic backdrop for an even more epic tale: the story of Diana and Actaeon. In the video, the contemporary Diana is followed by her two Virgins, and they pursue an evasive wolf in the forest. Eventually, this story becomes more complex, abstract, and vast in its scale. Also in the galleries are sculptures that take on the shape of fallen trees, with growths that look both natural and unnatural. Sometimes the trunks (which look like those in the mountains) are mounted upon tripods and bases that recall hunting equipment. Copper etchings that are electroplated contain imagery from Redoubt, and the etchings themselves also play a large part in the original film.

The results of this exhibition are captivating and haunting. Much like the artist’s seminal CREMASTER Cycle, Redoubt’s complex layers of history, spectacular production, and visceral, violent imagery are arresting. As noted in Yale’s press release, Barney was also informed by the university’s massive holdings, with their millions of books, printed matter, and other ephemera of the past and present. Since the artist was dealing so heavily with myth and history, this surely must have helped Barney create a more cohesive and nuanced exhibition.

If there was ever a reason to head to New Haven, this would be it. However, if you do miss out, this wonderful show will be heading to Beijing and London after its stint at Yale. Yet given Matthew Barney’s association with the university, and the resources they provided him in order to bring Redoubt into fruition, it is most definitely worth the trip.