Barnes Foundation's 'The Order of Things' Features Mark Dion, Judy Pfaff, and Fred Wilson

From May 16 to August 3, 2015, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia presented 'The Order of Things' in its contemporary gallery, featuring installations by Mark Dion, Judy Pfaff, and Fred Wilson. The exhibition aimed to engage with Albert Barnes's distinctive exhibition methodology, which the artists interpreted through varied approaches. Judy Pfaff's sprawling installation 'Scene I: The Garden, Enter Mrs. Barnes' (2015) honored Laura Barnes's arboretum at the original Lower Merion location, incorporating digital prints, pigmented foam, wood, steel, and references to Henri Rousseau and Henri Matisse. Fred Wilson created staged tableaux using furniture from the Merion offices and incorporated an African soundscape of drums and chanting, deliberately leaving the cultural origins unnamed. Mark Dion's 'The Incomplete Naturalist' employed symmetry to arrange objects like guns, knives, butterfly nets, and garden tools, reflecting Barnes's aesthetic. The show was described as dynamic yet problematic, bringing together dissonant styles to explore the minds of Albert and Laura Barnes.