Matthew Barney
ZONE DEFENSE: Old Snowmass Parallax

In the wake of TACTICAL parallax, Matthew Barney’s site-specific performance for AIR 2025, the artist presents a new large-scale sculpture that extends his ongoing investigation into the interplay between physical endurance, mythology, and material transformation. For AIR 2026, ZONE DEFENSE: Old Snowmass Parallax is sited on a large expanse at Rose Ranch, framed by the Rocky Mountains and adjacent to the site of last year’s performance in the 10th Mountain Division Field House at McCabe Ranch. Within this landscape, ZONE DEFENSE is positioned on a field scored by athletic end zone markers, delineating four diagonal axes that span the space and intersect at the central object, ZONE DEFENSE. In their spatial organization, these axes recall the field of play from both TACTICAL parallax and the artist’s preceding film work SECONDARY (2023), in which the arc of action was composed along the diagram of a parallax. 

A parallax is a phenomenon in which a subject, when viewed from a distance via multiple unique perspectives, must be reconciled into a single view. Now, at the center of this parallax, two abstract structures stand in suspended animation, cast in stainless steel and aluminum, and frozen in a gesture of collision near collapse. The stress from the collision is captured in a sequence of curves through the limbs of the structures, and held in tension by a system of counterweights. At the point of contact, two American football jerseys are entangled, Jack Tatum’s in black and silver, and Darryl Stingley’s in red, white, and blue. Grappling in midair, this opposition recalls the historic collision that left Stingley paralyzed for life and posed long-lasting questions about the systemic violence of American football. Situated in the heart of the Rockies and following the story of TACTICAL parallax, this history is further weighted by the power structures embedded in mythologies of the American West.

Figured like a drawing in space, ZONE DEFENSE traces the choreography of both David Thomson and Raphael Xavier, performing the roles of Stingley and Tatum, in the singular action of TACTICAL parallax. For AIR 2026, ZONE DEFENSE: Old Snowmass Parallax is the freeze-frame, the keeper of mythos, and the resting position where the multiplicity of views and interpretations of this historic incident remain.

Matthew Barney is an artist renowned for provocative explorations of the body and ritual across sculpture, installation, film, performance, and drawing. Since the early 1990s, Barney’s epic projects have addressed the complex spectacle of violence in American culture, merging references to classical mythology, modern history, sports, human anatomy, and popular culture. His films and ritualistic performances feature elaborate costumes, objects often coated in viscous substances, and sets evoking military training camps, sports arenas, or medical facilities. His most recent major bodies of work, SECONDARY (2023) and Redoubt (2018), respectively explore the physical brutality of American sports culture and the nation’s myths surrounding landscape. Barney has presented large-scale solo projects at institutions such as Fondation Cartier, Paris (2024), and Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven (2019), and is a recipient of the 1996 Hugo Boss Prize, among other accolades.

ZONE DEFENSE: Old Snowmass Parallax is curated by Daniel Merritt, Chief Curator, and Vic Brooks, Senior Curatorial Advisor. 

Special thanks to Kevin Haynie, Chief Preparator, and Gemma Goette, Curatorial Assistant.

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This visit takes place outdoors on a private ranch. The site includes grass, gravel, and uneven natural terrain. Guests should also expect changing weather conditions, dust, and other naturally occurring environmental conditions. A limited number of all-terrain wheelchairs are available for guest use with at least 48 hours’ advance reservation, subject to availability. We strongly recommend comfortable walking shoes and sun protection. Shuttle service is provided from the Aspen Art Museum; there is no guest parking on site. If you require mobility assistance or accessibility accommodations, please contact us at air@aspenartmuseum.org at least 48 hours in advance so we can evaluate and coordinate reasonable accommodations.

Image: Matthew Barney, TACTICAL parallax, 2025. Production still: Maria Baranova. © Matthew Barney, courtesy the artist and Aspen Art Museum