The exhibition, curated by Nancy Spector, Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, examines affinities between the two artists, who, though separated by generation and geography, share aesthetic and conceptual concerns. The exhibition focuses on the metaphoric use of materials, the belief in metamorphosis, and the relationship between action and its documentation in their respective practices. It also reveals fundamental, philosophical differences between Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys—fueled, no doubt, by the divide between modern and postmodernist thought—that, in turn, further enhances our understanding of each artist’s work.