Untitled

The jellyfish is rendered with minimal detail, avoiding shading or perspective to emphasize flatness. Pencil outlines define its form, while synthetic paint provides the vivid red hue. Petroleum jelly adds a semi-translucent, viscous texture to the surface. The sewing of the paper to the frame disrupts the boundary between drawing and object, challenging conventional display methods.

This work was produced during a period when Barney was developing his expansive Cremaster Cycle, a series exploring myth, transformation, and physical limits. It entered the collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it is held as part of a broader engagement with contemporary drawing practices that expand beyond the page.

Barney’s work from this era often merges scientific imagery with mythological narratives, using unconventional materials to evoke bodily processes and environmental systems. The choice of petroleum jelly, a substance used in medical and cosmetic contexts, reinforces themes of containment and transformation. The plastic frame’s crude edges contrast with the delicate subject, suggesting tension between natural and artificial.

The work exemplifies Barney’s contribution to redefining drawing as an expanded field—incorporating sculpture, performance, and material experimentation. Its inclusion in MoMA’s collection underscores its significance in late 1990s conceptual drawing, where process, material, and framing became integral to meaning rather than mere support.