Matthew Barney's latest exhibit, "DJED," at the Gladstone Gallery explores Egyptian conceptions of the afterlife that Barney first tackled in his 2010 multi-site performance piece 'KHU;. 'DJED,' named after a symbol associated with the god Osiris, is his first one to be held in New York for five years. The works take the form of ancient symbols re-interpreted through a modern eye, referencing artists from Alberto Giacometti to Julian Schnabel.
According to the Observer, the show was "made in connection with a multi-part, multiple-site-specific, not yet completed opera—directed with Jonathan Bepler, who also wrote the music—that takes its name and its conceit from Norman Mailer’s 1983 novel Ancient Evenings." Mailer appears in one of Barney's drawings, his face intertwined with the titular DJED.
Matthew Barney graduated from Yale University in 1989 and is known for his 'Cremaster Cycle' of films which bridged avant-garde cinema and gallery-based fine art.
Barney's 'DJED' will show at Gladstone Gallery until October 22.
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