Raphael Xavier

Secondary maps two different narratives onto each other, using movement as the formal through-line. The first describes the complex overlay of violence and spectacle inherent in American football, and more broadly within American culture. Barney’s personal involvement in the sport served as a starting point for the development of this project. The extreme physical and psychological conditions of the game have been abstracted in Barney’s art practice since his earliest work, and now provide a context for this subject that is both retrospective and a new, direct engagement.

After a major pandemic leaves a talented artist out of work, Van Xander reaches out to Remo, a former street friend for some fast cash. But Remo has something else in mind. He wants Van to mentor a bullied kid trying to fit in the BMX wheelie culture of Philadelphia. An artist tries to figure it out. A kid trying to fit in.