Matthew Barney | "Sweet Bolus", 1995 | (for Parkett 45)
Read a Parkett Text on Matthew Barney
Parkett Vol. 45
Quote from Parkett
“Barney’s work has always involved a carefully balanced combination of exoteric and esoteric elements, aspects that anyone can follow and enjoy mixed in with cryptic signs and personal myths almost impossible to decipher... Part of Barney’s skill lies in creating initial scenographies so compelling in visual terms that it is almost impossible for the viewer not to be drawn in by them.”
Norman Bryson, Parkett No. 45, 1995
Additional Quote
”If you could lift this dumbbell, gleaming like a sceptre or a sword with a satin blade, what power would you wield? The luscious textures of silken ribbon, a smooth and perfectly formed pearl and glistening sugar crystals make this ‘sweet bolus’ an object of almost consumable desire. A bolus is actually the word given to a soft mass, like that of food just before swallowing. Matthew Barney often concentrates on the function of our bodies in his work, and is involved in an ongoing series in which he restrains his body while creating drawings.”
"Sweet Bolus", 1995 (for Parkett 45)
Cast sugar and Viratex epoxy resin
on satin ribbon with single cultured pearl,
dumbbell: 3 7/8 x 4 x 11 1/2” (8,5 x 9 x 30,7 cm),
overall length with satin ribbon 26 1/2” (67 cm),
Ed. 50/XXV, signed and numbered
Sold Out. For updates on availability, please inquire by joining our waiting list
Read a Parkett Text on Matthew Barney
Parkett Vol. 45
Quote from Parkett
“Barney’s work has always involved a carefully balanced combination of exoteric and esoteric elements, aspects that anyone can follow and enjoy mixed in with cryptic signs and personal myths almost impossible to decipher... Part of Barney’s skill lies in creating initial scenographies so compelling in visual terms that it is almost impossible for the viewer not to be drawn in by them.”
Norman Bryson, Parkett No. 45, 1995
Additional Quote
”If you could lift this dumbbell, gleaming like a sceptre or a sword with a satin blade, what power would you wield? The luscious textures of silken ribbon, a smooth and perfectly formed pearl and glistening sugar crystals make this ‘sweet bolus’ an object of almost consumable desire. A bolus is actually the word given to a soft mass, like that of food just before swallowing. Matthew Barney often concentrates on the function of our bodies in his work, and is involved in an ongoing series in which he restrains his body while creating drawings.”
"Sweet Bolus", 1995 (for Parkett 45)
Cast sugar and Viratex epoxy resin
on satin ribbon with single cultured pearl,
dumbbell: 3 7/8 x 4 x 11 1/2” (8,5 x 9 x 30,7 cm),
overall length with satin ribbon 26 1/2” (67 cm),
Ed. 50/XXV, signed and numbered
Sold Out. For updates on availability, please inquire by joining our waiting list
Read a Parkett Text on Matthew Barney
Parkett Vol. 45
Quote from Parkett
“Barney’s work has always involved a carefully balanced combination of exoteric and esoteric elements, aspects that anyone can follow and enjoy mixed in with cryptic signs and personal myths almost impossible to decipher... Part of Barney’s skill lies in creating initial scenographies so compelling in visual terms that it is almost impossible for the viewer not to be drawn in by them.”
Norman Bryson, Parkett No. 45, 1995
Additional Quote
”If you could lift this dumbbell, gleaming like a sceptre or a sword with a satin blade, what power would you wield? The luscious textures of silken ribbon, a smooth and perfectly formed pearl and glistening sugar crystals make this ‘sweet bolus’ an object of almost consumable desire. A bolus is actually the word given to a soft mass, like that of food just before swallowing. Matthew Barney often concentrates on the function of our bodies in his work, and is involved in an ongoing series in which he restrains his body while creating drawings.”
"Sweet Bolus", 1995 (for Parkett 45)
Cast sugar and Viratex epoxy resin
on satin ribbon with single cultured pearl,
dumbbell: 3 7/8 x 4 x 11 1/2” (8,5 x 9 x 30,7 cm),
overall length with satin ribbon 26 1/2” (67 cm),
Ed. 50/XXV, signed and numbered
Sold Out. For updates on availability, please inquire by joining our waiting list
Contribution to Parkett’s 20 Year Anniversary
Photograph of a broken “Sweet Bolus” cast sent by the artist on the occasion of Parkett’s 20th anniversary in 2004.
Artist Video
In this short video excerpt Matthew Barney talks about some aspects of his art.
Parkett Art
Read a selected text on Matthew Barney
Parkett Cover
Matthew Barney’s work featured on the cover of Parkett no. 45
