Is Jerry Saltz The World's Biggest Matthew Barney Fan?

In a recent article on artnet.com, art critic (and former judge on Bravo's Work of Art) Jerry Saltz reports, "Before I wrote about Matthew Barney’s Cremaster IV, I watched it 75 times. What can I say? I really like it."

Now, Jerry probably received a reviewer's copy of the film, but what about you Cremaster Fanatics reading this blog? How many times have you watched Barney's films? Can anyone out there beat Jerry Saltz? Let us know in the comments.

Matthew Barney Makes Jerry Saltz's "New York Canon"

Matthew Barney's 1991 debut solo exhibition at Barbara Gladstone Gallery has been named one of the New York art world's most important events of the past 40 years by critic Jerry Saltz. Noting that Barney's show opened after he appeared on the cover of Artforum, Saltz writes, "The exhibition, which was continually packed with visitors, consisted of videos of Barney in drag dancing with a blocking sled, him dressed as a football player and crawling across Gladstone’s ceiling, naked, suspended from ice screws. In the downstairs gallery we saw videos of Barney inserting an ice screw into his anus in an attempt to crawl into his own body and turn himself inside out. Barney combined Nauman, Beuys, Serra, Joan Jonas, strange materials and something so physical, dense and unknowable that he created his own mystic one-man movement."

Pictured above: Matthew Barney's "Program: Houdini, O'Williams, Otto (HO2)", 1991, collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

(Art) Star-Studded Opening for Cremaster Fanatic Installation at Sara Tecchia

Artkrush.com Editor Paul Laster, Saatchi Online Berlin Correspondent Alix Rule, Curator Ana Finel Honigman, and New York Magazine Senior Art Critic Jerry Saltz



"And, Who Are You?" Curator Ana Finel Honigman and CremasterFanatic.com Founder Eric Doeringer



The Crowd at the Opening for "And, Who Are You?"



"And, Who Are You?" Artists William Lemon III (left) and Bill Durgin (center, buried) at the Afterparty



More Styrofoam Fun at the Afterparty, Hosted by Terence Koh


You know it was a good party when you wake up the next morning slightly hung over and covered in styrofoam...

Despite the cold weather, there was a huge turnout for the opening of "And, Who Are You?", an exhibition of artists from Saatchi Online that features a Matthew Barney installation by CremasterFanatic.com founder Eric Doeringer. If you missed the opening, the exhibition continues through January 26 at Sara Tecchia Roma New York, 529 W 20th Street, 2nd Floor, New York City.

"And, Who Are You?" is curated by Saatchi Online's Ana Finel Honigman and features art by Jay Batlle, Dilettante Films, Eric Doeringer, Bill Durgin, Fame Theory, Nora Klumpp, William Lemon III, Miranda Maher, Airyka Rockefeller, Eva Roovers, and Sara White Wilson. More photos from the opening are posted on Phillips Art Expert and James Kalm shot some video footage (Matthew Barney installation appears around 7:12).

Possibly even more fun than the opening was the afterparty, hosted by artist Terrance Koh. A killer band played in the basement (didn't catch their name -- if anyone knows please leave a comment) while upstairs guests frolicked in Koh's room-sized installation of styrofoam peanuts. Probably the best party we've ever been to in New York!

Matthew Barney Awarded "Best Show of 2007" by Critic Jerry Saltz

New York Magazine's senior art critic Jerry Saltz named Matthew Barney's Guarding of the Veil performance the "Best Show" of 2007. Saltz writes:

"On a Sunday afternoon in April, in a raw ground-floor cold-water loft 20 feet from the East River, Matthew Barney staged an extraordinary performance. A spellbound crowd watched him walk around slowly with a dog on his head; two half-naked women bent over backward in order to urinate in an arc, a marching band wore terrorist masks; a huge bull attempted to mate with a 1967 Chrysler. What made all this so great, in addition to Barney’s relentless attempt to plumb his own inner cathedral, was how homemade and speculative the whole thing was. There were more art-student types there than art-world A-listers. Most important, it wasn’t an overproduced glamour event full of celebrities -- just an artist trying to figure something out in front of a grateful audience."

Read the rest of Jerry Saltz's Top 10 List at http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/saltz12-17-07.asp