Celebrated for his fusion of performance, video, and sculpture, Matthew Barney has long been known for constructing dense, mythic narratives that unfold across entire bodies of work.

Matthew Barney: OTTO Trilogy is the first publication to chart the evolution of three key early projects—Facility of INCLINE, Facility of DECLINE, and OTTOshaft—and to reveal the conceptual framework that interconnects them.

Named after former football player Jim Otto, the trilogy investigates the training and physical conditioning of the body, exploring themes of endurance, discipline, sexual difference, and desire. These works mark a formative phase in Barney’s career, where he developed a visual language shaped equally by sport, biology, psychology, and symbolic systems.

The richly illustrated volume includes previously unpublished drawings, production photographs, research materials, and video stills. Essays by Nancy Spector and Maggie Nelson offer insights into Barney’s unique approach to image-making, narrative construction, and the representation of the body. A newly written text by the artist further deepens the exploration of the trilogy’s conceptual terrain.

More than a documentation of three works, this book serves as a key to understanding many of the recurring themes that run through Barney’s larger oeuvre—making it an essential resource for anyone interested in his practice.