Barry McGee

Barry McGee (born 1966 in San Francisco) is a contemporary US artist. He is a well known graffiti artist, pioneer of the Mission School art movement, and is also known by his monikers: Twist, Ray Fong, Bernon Vernon, and P.Kin.

Barry McGee
Barry McGee Mural on Houston and Bowery
Born1966 (age 53–54)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma materSan Francisco Art Institute
MovementMission School, Street Art

Life and education

McGee graduated from El Camino High School in South San Francisco, California. He later graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1991 with a concentration in painting and printmaking. He was married to the artist Margaret Kilgallen, who died of cancer in 2001. They have a daughter named Asha[1].

Work

"Acclaimed for his work in the street as a graffiti artist and for his painted installations in galleries, museums and art festivals around the world, Barry McGee crafts a visual language that makes itself understood. It is public, addressing social concerns of urban life, and very private, elaborating a unique personal style that focuses on humanity, one painstakingly detailed, fine brush-painted image at a time[2]."

Career
Commissioned murals typical of Barry McGee's earlier work and graffiti in the LACMA parking garage (now torn down)

Barry McGee has exhibited, both solo and group, in galleries internationally. He is represented by Ratio 3 Gallery in San Francisco[3].

McGee was a central figure in the graffiti art scene in San Francisco from the late 80's and into the 90's. As Twist, he became well known nationally by his stylized black and white pictographic flathead screw graffiti 'throw ups'. Later he was part of the Mission School art movement based in the aesthetics of the Mission District of San Francisco. His work is founded on a pessimistic view of the urban experience, which he describes as, "urban ills, over-stimulations, frustrations, addictions & trying to maintain a level head under the constant bombardment of advertising". He was also an artist in residence at inner-city McClymonds High School in Oakland, California in the early '90s. Although his artistic origins lie in New York subway graffiti he has been included as a member of the street art movement.

Installation, Xe Biennale de Lyon

McGee's installations consist of simple bold paintings which are influenced by Islamic patterns on tiles, vernacular sign painting, or use caricatures of the destitute. These paintings are clustered together in combination with photographs of other graffiti writers. Older work included layering of shapes, and buff marks, backgrounds of drips painted directly on the gallery wall. He has painted stylized portraits on empty bottles of liquor, flattened spray cans, and wrecked vehicles for art shows. He has collaborated frequently with Amaze, allowing him to paint the exterior and interior of the galleries exhibiting McGee's work. They have also utilized realistic moving mechanical human figures that appear to be tagging gallery walls.

The market value of his work rose considerably after 2001 as a result of his being included in the Venice Biennale and other major exhibitions. As a result, much of his San Francisco street art has been scavenged or stolen.[4][5]

Controversy

In 2004, as part of an exhibit at San Francisco's City Hall, McGee spray-painted "Smash the State" on the walls of Supervisor Matt Gonzalez's office. SFGate wrote: "The timing and placement of the artwork are interesting, seeing how City Hall is a registered historical landmark, and you need approval just to hang a bulletin board". Gonzalez told the press that he knew his office would be repainted for the next occupant[6].

McGee was involved in a controversy regarding the Adidas Y1 HUF, a shoe for which he provided the artwork. This gave rise to a protest campaign by some Asian-Americans who claimed that the picture on the shoe's tongue depicts a racist stereotype. McGee responded to the controversy in a March 2006 press release.[7] He stated that the drawing was a portrait of himself as an 8-year-old child.

Selected Exhibitions
Woman photographing a Barry McGee installation, Xe Biennale de Lyon
  • 1999: The Buddy System, Deitch Gallery in New York City, NYC[8]
  • 1999: HOSS, Rice Gallery in Houston, TX[9]
  • 2004: Barry McGee and Josh Lazcano, Gallery Paule Anglim in San Francisco, CA[11]
  • 2006: Featured in Beautiful Losers exhibition at Circleculture Gallery in Berlin, Germany[13]
  • 2006–2007: LOFT installation at Roberts & Tilton Gallery in Los Angeles, CA[14]
  • 2008: Life on Mars Carnegie International[18]
  • 2008: Ratio 3 in San Francisco, CA[19]
  • 2009: McGee / Templeton / Pettibon exhibition curated by Aaron Rose at Circleculture Gallery in Berlin, Germany[20]
  • 2009–2010: Biennale de Lyon, France[21]
  • 2010: The Last Night (With HuskMitNavn), A.L.I.C.E. gallery in Brussels, Belgium[22]
gollark: Apiochronoform deployment.
gollark: They're both jokes which *may* be quarantined by GTech™?
gollark: People tend to disagree lots about ☭'s definition, troublingly.
gollark: NONE are safe.
gollark: Interesting! I'm vaguely aware of that! It seems like one of the better ☭s. Although arguably not a ☭.

See also

Bibliography
  • McGee, Barry, Ellen Robinson, and Katya Tylevich. Barry McGee. Bologna: Damiani, (2018). ISBN 978-8862086165
  • Boas, Natasha. Energy that is all around : Mission School : Chris Johanson, Margaret Kilgallen, Alicia McCarthy, Barry McGee, Ruby Neri. San Francisco: San Francisco Art Institute Chronicle Books, (2014). ISBN 978-1452142180
  • Rinder, Lawrence, and Barry McGee. Barry McGee. Berkeley & New York: University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc, (2012). ISBN 978-1935202851
  • Rose, Aaron (editor), Barry McGee . Tokyo: Damiani, (2010). ISBN 978-8862080965
  • Kilgallen, Margaret, et al. Margaret kilgallen : in the sweet bye & bye. Los Angeles: California Institute of the Arts/REDCAT, (2006). ISBN 978-0974983165
  • Bertelli, Patrizio, Barry McGee. Fondazione Prada, (2002). ISBN 978-8887029215
  • Kawachi, Taka, Street Market: Barry McGee, Stephen Powers, Todd James. Little More, (2000). ISBN 978-4898150399

References
  1. Smith, Roberta (July 4, 2001). "Margaret Kilgallen, a San Francisco Artist, 33". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  2. "Barry McGee, Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco". web.archive.org. January 5, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  3. "Barry McGee - Ratio 3". www.ratio3.org. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  4. "The Mission school" by Glen Helfand, San Francisco Bay Guardian, October 28, 2002.
  5. "Twist Thief" by Trippe, Fecal Face (website), December 13, 2007. (scroll down)
  6. Lelchuk, I. Lelchuk, Ilene (December 10, 2004). "Last word on government: Graffiti installation in Gonzalez's office gets mixed reviews". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 10, 2006. San Francisco Chronicle on the web, December 10, 2004.
  8. "Deitch". September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on September 20, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  9. "Installations". Rice Gallery. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  10. Levin, Kim (June 25, 2001). "Panic Attack". Village Voice. Archived from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2006.
  11. "Barry McGee, Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco". January 5, 2007. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  12. "BrandeisNOW". Brandeis.edu. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  13. "Circle Culture Gallery". Archive.is. November 30, 2013. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  14. "Roberts Projects". Robertsprojectsla.com. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  15. "watari-um - exhibition - バリー・マッギー展". Watarium.co.jp. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  16. "BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art". March 31, 2008. Archived from the original on March 31, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  17. "Riverside Art Museum - Exhibitions - The Big Sad: Barry McGee & Clare Rojas". October 19, 2008. Archived from the original on October 19, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  18. "Barry McGee - Signals". April 29, 2008. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  19. "A Moment for Reflection: New Work by Lydia Fong". Ratio 3. 2008. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  21. "Biennale de Lyon 2009 - Pictures gallery". October 30, 2009. Archived from the original on October 30, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  22. "The Last Night". Alice Gallery Brussels. 2010. Archived from the original on July 20, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  23. "BAM/PFA - Art Exhibitions - Barry McGee". November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  24. "Barry MCGEE - Contemporary Art Exhibition". www.perrotin.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.

Bibliography
  • Barry McGee. 2002. Barry McGee: The Buddy System. ISBN 0-9648530-3-5
  • Barry McGee, Germano Celant, Prada. 2003. Barry McGee. ISBN 88-87029-21-0
  • Aaron Rose and Christian Strike (editors). 2004. Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture. ISBN 1-891024-74-4
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