"Throughout his career," writes Alex Baker in the exhibition catalog,
"Barry McGee has continued to surprise and contradict expectations."
Including rarely seen early etchings, letterpress printing trays and liquor
bottles painted with his trademark cast of down-and-out urban characters,
constellations of vibrant op-art painted panels, animatronic taggers, and an
elaborate re-creation of a cacophonous street-corner bodega, along with many
new projects, this first midcareer survey of the globally influential San
Francisco--based artist showcases the broad range of McGee's compassionate and
vivacious work.
McGee, who trained professionally in painting and printmaking at the San
Francisco Art Institute, began sharing his work in the 1980s, not in a museum
or gallery setting but on the streets of San Francisco, where he developed his
skills as a graffiti artist, often using the tag name "Twist."
McGee's use of this and other monikers—such as Ray and Lydia Fong—as well as
his frequent collaborations can make it difficult to precisely situate the
artist's unique authorship. Using a visual vocabulary drawn from graffiti,
comics, hobo art, and sign painting, McGee celebrates his Mission District
neighborhood while at the same time calling attention to the harmful effects of
capitalism, gentrification, and corporate control of public space. His
often-humorous paintings, drawings, and prints—all wrought with extraordinary
skill—push the boundaries of art: his work can be refreshingly informal in the
gallery and surprisingly elegant on the street.
McGee has long viewed the city itself as a living space for art and activism,
but his more recent work has brought the urban condition into the space of the
gallery. Increasingly, his installation environments express the anarchic
vitality of the inner-city street, incorporating overturned cars and trucks,
and often spill beyond the frame of the gallery or museum.
Barry McGee is organized by Director Lawrence Rinder, with Assistant Curator
Dena Beard. Barry McGee is made possible by lead support from The Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts and presenting sponsor Citizens of Humanity.
Major support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Ratio 3,
Cheim and Read, the East Bay Fund for Artists at the East Bay Community
Foundation, The Robert Lehman Foundation, Prism, Stuart Shave/Modern Art, and
Cinelli. Additional support is provided by Rena Bransten, Gallery Paule Anglim,
Jeffrey Fraenkel and Frish Brandt, Suzanne Geiss, Nion McEvoy, and the BAM/PFA
Trustees."
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