Re-Object/Mythos, 2007

From Re-Object/Mythos
Photogravure and embossing on Hahnemühle rag paper, 81 x 61 cm (32 x 24 in), edition of 45, signed and numbered.

In this enigmatic black-and-white edition, Matthew Barney brings his mythopoetic visual language to the industrial setting of a ship’s deck, transforming it into a stage for ritual and transformation. At the center of the composition lies a sculptural mass, ambiguous in form – part relic, part prosthetic – framed by the stark geometry of machinery and the churning sea beyond. This work continues Barney’s exploration of physicality, endurance, and the symbolic potential of materials and environments. The mechanical and the mythical are held in tension, suggesting a narrative that remains elusive yet charged with archetypal weight. As with much of Barney’s practice, the work invites interpretation without yielding to it, existing in a space between documentation, fiction, and performance.
This edition was created as part of the group portfolio Re-Object/Mythos on the occasion of an eponymous exhibition at Kunsthaus Bregenz. 

From Re-Object/Mythos
Copper plate etching printed in 48 colors on Hahnemühle rag paper, 81.5 x 61 cm (32¼ x 24 in). Edition of 45, signed and numbered.

This edition is part of Damien Hirst’s iconic series of Spot Paintings or Pharmaceutical Paintings. About these works, Hirst has said: “My Spot Paintings are a scientific approach to painting, much like the scientific approach of pharmaceutical companies to life. Hence the title of the series, The Pharmaceutical Paintings.” Further, the artist has explained, “art is like medicine – it can heal. Yet I’ve always been amazed at how many people believe in medicine but don’t believe in art, without questioning either.”
This particular work is part of a portfolio of prints published by Edition Schellmann on the occasion of two exhibitions held at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Re-Object and Mythos.

From Re-Object/Mythos
Digital pigment print (Ditone) on Innova paper, 74.4 x 61 cm (29¼ x 24 in), edition of 45, signed and numbered.

Jeff Koons’ Girl with Lobster is an edition that stages actress Gretchen Mol in her role as Bettie Page with an iconic inflatable lobster. A silver, reflective line drawing in the foreground alludes to fertility, Mother Nature, and Gustave Courbet’s L’Origine du monde, thereby merging art historical references with contemporary visual language. In his portrait composition, Jeff Koons connects art historical influences from Dalí and Duchamp with a modern aesthetic. The work plays on the tension between fetish and innocence, sensuality and provocation – a commentary on the cultural staging of eroticism.