Giraffe, Smithsonian Museum, San Francisco, 2005
September 10-24, 2011
Opening: Saturday, September 10th, 2-4PM
BAU-XI PHOTO
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With a background in archaeology, Barnes’ work is largely informed by his interest in artefacts and the role of the museum. His photographs are in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the New York Public Library and the Harvard Photographic Archive. He was a recipient of the Rome Prize for 2005-06, and his photographs have been shown in solo exhibitions at numerous prestigious institutions. Richard Barnes lives and works in New York.
In Animal Logic, Richard Barnes has photographed the museum in between installations, highlighting the artificial components in recreating the natural world. In photographing storage spaces and crated animal sculptures, the artist also explores the ideas of categorizing and collecting. Barnes peels back layers of artifice to reveal the tangle of artistry, craftsmanship, and curatorial decisions inside every lifelike diorama and meticulously arranged glass case. The images hinge on the edge of absurdity, with familiar scenes captured in unfamiliar contexts.