Matthew Barney

In 1994, the Fondation Cartier was the first French institution to host a solo exhibition by Matthew Barney in Europe to celebrate the coproduction of the artist's first feature film, Cremaster 4. In 2024, the foundation presented Secondary, another solo exhibition by the artist, to commemorate thirty years of collaboration with the foundation. The exhibition juxtaposed his newest film, Secondary, with Barney's first video works from his series Drawing Restraint, examining the relationship between resistance and creativity, as well as the physical limits of the human body as expressed in the artist's oeuvre. Barney created the last video in the series, Drawing Restraint 27, specifically for the exhibition. It was an in situ performance, filmed on location at the Fondation Cartier.

His singular vision is rooted in his training as an athlete and is inspired by the physical possibilities and mental conditioning of training as a means of exploring the limits of the human body. He is best known for his cinematographic works, notably the five films that make up The Cremaster Cycle (1994–2002), River of Fundament (2014) and Redoubt (2019). Cinema is not merely a narrative medium for Barney but rather an extension of a sculptural and performative space. His mise en scènes include bodies, various materials, and ritualised actions set in a décor constructed like an installation. His films are characterised by non-linear and mythological narration, with a hybrid, baroque aesthetic that elevates them into true works of art. In terms of his sculptural work, he uses highly original materials and processes, creating objets and installations that are intricately linked with his cinematic universe.