Matthew Barney was born in 1967 in San Francisco, California, and grew up in Boise, Idaho. He now lives and works in New York. Barney received his BA from Yale University in 1989, attending the university on a football scholarship. Influenced by his experiences as an athlete, the artist often looks to his physical body and human biology as the vessels through which he communicates his ideas. Through film, installation, and sculpture, Barney documents real actions and builds immersive universes that explore themes of masculinity, athleticism, and mythology.