The exibition will examine key affinities between the two artists, who, though separated by generation and geography, share many aesthetic and conceptual concerns and will focus on their metaphoric use of materials, their interest in metamorphosis, their employment of narrative structures, and the relationship between action and documentation in their work.
The show's contents will be drawn largely from the Guggenheim Museum's permanent collection and will pair a selection of drawings and vitrines and sculptures by both artists.

The presentation will also examine the performative side of their practices, demonstrating the way both have theatricalized their sculptural production.

During the period of the exibition and before the Guggenheim Museum will organize a series of conferences and  screenings to prepare the public to the comprehension of the two artist's work.
A concert dedicated to Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys will be organized in july in the garden of the Guggenheim Museum.
Guided visits for visitors will be included in the price of the ticket.

For its complexity the exibition will be hosted in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, in the spaces of the permanent collection, during the 52nd Venice Biennale 2007.
The exhibition will premiere at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin before traveling to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice during the 2007 Venice Biennale.