With hints of Wagnerian ambition, Matthew Barney premieres the latest installment of his five-part Cremaster film cycle. In Cremaster 5 the backdrop is Budapest—birthplace of Barney’s hero Harry Houdini—where a cast of real and mythical characters, including a chorus of faeries, a magician, an opera diva, and a giant, play out the story’s denouement. While this episode is the “finale” of Barney’s ongoing series, it will not be the last installment—Cremaster 2 and Cremaster 3 remain to be made—of the artist’s nonsequential metaphorical narrative of sexual differentiation and gender identity. Organized by Portikus director Kasper König and curator Brigitte Kölle, the installation also includes objects related to Cremaster 5. June 19-Aug. 10
