Matthew Barney Cremaster 5, 1997 - Signed

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Description

Artist: Matthew Barney
Title: Cremaster 5
Year: 1997
Signed: Yes
Medium: Serigraph
Paper Size: 33 x 23.25 inches ( 84 … Read more Artist: Matthew Barney
Title: Cremaster 5
Year: 1997
Signed: Yes
Medium: Serigraph
Paper Size: 33 x 23.25 inches ( 84 x 59 cm )
Image Size: 33 x 23.25 inches ( 84 x 59 cm )
Edition Size: 250
Framed: No
Condition: A: Mint
Supplemental Condition Information: Slight paper breaking in bottom right corner

Additional Details: Cremaster 5 by Matthew Barney is a richly layered screen print and offset lithograph, executed in black, transparent black, and varnish with silver foil hot stamping and embossed emblem, all printed on satin Somerset paper. Signed and numbered in silver ink from an edition of 250, this piece showcases Barney’s meticulous craftsmanship and attention to materiality.

Created to accompany Cremaster 5, the final film in Barney’s ambitious five-part Cremaster Cycle, this print embodies the project's overarching themes of transformation, identity, and myth. The Cremaster Cycle explores the concept of biological development — specifically referencing the cremaster muscle, which controls the movement of the testes — as a metaphor for shaping form, destiny, and selfhood.

In Cremaster 5, Barney turns to operatic spectacle, rich symbolism, and a dreamlike narrative to depict the struggle between resistance and release. This print mirrors the film’s lush visual language: layered, seductive, and filled with coded meaning. The use of embossing, foil, and transparent inks amplifies the sense of depth, fragility, and strength — central motifs across Barney’s work.

As an artwork, Cremaster 5 offers collectors not only a striking and technically intricate print but also a piece of one of the most iconic and talked-about projects in late-20th-century contemporary art. It is a significant acquisition for those interested in conceptual art, film-based art practices, and the intersection of the body and mythology in contemporary visual culture. See less