Barry McGee is a cult figure when it comes to graffiti scene of the American bi-coastal subculture involving skaters, surfers, and non-traditional artists. He has been working on the streets of American cities ever since the early 80s and he goes by the tag name Twist, although he had many other monikers, such as Ray Fong, Lydia Fong, Bernon Vernon, P.Kin and Ray Virgil. For Barry McGee, the world of artistic interventions is an important means of communication which allows him to get in touch with the most diverse audiences around the world. Compelling creation, to me, is a name carved into a tree, the artist claims.[1]
Barry McGee was born in the mid-60s in California, where he continues to live and create. He is a classically trained artist – in 1991, he received a BFA in painting and printmaking from the San Francisco Institute. Besides his interest in fine arts, McGee has been passionate about graffiti ever since his early age when he started tagging in the neighborhoods of San Francisco. During the 1980s, he coined his moniker Twist, which became well-known near his home city. After he gained this initial public exposure in California, Barry McGee experienced a strong need to expand to other areas, such as different cities but also places not traditionally acknowledged for promoting unconventional pieces – galleries and museums. When it comes to nature and aesthetics of his work, Barry McGee draws inspiration from a pessimistic side of the modern lifestyle. He describes his experiences of the nowadays life as an unpleasant mix of overstimulation, frustrations, addictions and constant attacks of advertising industry..[2] McGee’s eclectic works such as drawings, paintings, installations, and mixed-media pieces often incorporate elements such as liquor bottles, spray-paint cans, and scrap wood or metal. Such unusual combinations infuse a strong sense of chaos and anxiety, typical for the lifestyle in modern Western societies.
The list of McGee’s influences is long – the artist is known for his admiration of the Mexican muralists, tramp artists of the 70’s and 80’s, lowbrow movement and beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs. During his successful career, Barry McGee has managed to create a uniquely rich visual language, fusing together all these influences with invented imagery, tags and found objects. His work is strongly poetic and evocative, unlike the typical graffiti. When it comes to his paintings, they are recognizable for their iconic central figures dominating abstract backgrounds made of drips, patterns, and interesting color fields. Barry McGee hasn’t limited his work to walls and canvases – instead, he painted portraits of characters on empty liquor bottles and flattened spray cans picked up at various junk yards. The artist is also known for his prototypical, trademark character with sagging eyes and confused expression. In a way, this character represents the image of homeless people and various transients who call the streets their home. Barry McGee didn’t introduce only his trademark character to the world of atypical modern creations, but he also popularized the use of paint drips and chisel tip markers. These techniques are recently used prevalently in graphic designs. McGee is also famous for his innovative display techniques, involving the clustering of paintings. These impressive clustered compositions McGee uses to arrange his works in galleries are inspired by similar installations he saw in Catholic churches in Brazil. Speaking of gallery exhibitions, the artist supports the practice of painting directly on gallery walls, because this style is bold and it clearly imitates the intrusive nature of graffiti. His artworks have been presented in numerous galleries and museums such as the Walker Center, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Hammer Museum and in many other eminent institutions in Milan, Tokyo, and the United Kingdom.
The more I learned about the art world, the more my interest in what was going on outside of it increased, I didn’t have any desire to bring graffiti inside the school’s walls or anything, says Barry McGee about the evolution of his interests and artistic style. [3] In his native city of San Francisco, his imagery continues to endure on walls despite the continuous campaign of public authorities to paint his works out. Because of his constant efforts and unfathomable creativity over the last three decades, McGee became a highly respected and admired individual who nowadays counts his followers not only among the skaters and unconventional artists but also among traditional gallery audiences.
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Featured image: Barry McGee’s Portrait – image via huckmagazine.com
Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Group/Solo |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Frieze New York 2016 | Cheim & Read at Frieze New York | Group |
2015 | Untitled 2015 | Anglim Gilbert Gallery atnMiami Beach | Group |
2014 | ...And Color | Anglim Gilbert Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2013 | FOCUS: Barry McGee | Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX | Solo |
2013 | Barry McGee | The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA | Solo |
2012 | Postcards From the Edge | Cheim and Read Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2012 | Barry McGee | Contemporary Arts Centre, Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco | Solo |
2012 | The Road Ahead | Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA | Group |
2012 | Barry McGee | Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA | Solo |
2012 | Barry McGee | Prism, West Hollywood, CA | Solo |
2011 | Barry McGee – New Work | Modern Art, London, England | Solo |
2011 | Art in the Streets | The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2011 | After Hours: Murals on the Bowery | New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY | Group |
2011 | Freeflow | Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA | Group |
2011 | I Love Art 11 | Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan | Group |
2011 | New York Minute | Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, Russia | Group |
2011 | In the Moment: Artists | The Luggage Store, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2011 | 50 Years of Bay Area Art | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2010 | Muddguts Meets Homebase | MAMA Rotterdam, the Netherlands | Group |
2010 | DRAW | Museo de la Cludad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico | Group |
2010 | Brush Strokes | V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark | Group |
2010 | They Knew What They Wanted | Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2010 | Outside The Box | Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2010 | The Last Night (two person show with HuskMitNavn | Alice Gallery, Brussels | Solo |
2010 | Transfer | Brazilian Cultural Pavilion, Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo, Brazil | Group |
2010 | Barry McGee & Clare Rojas | Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, California | Group |
2010 | Outside The Box | Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2010 | Paper!Awesome | Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2010 | 2TheWall | New Image Art Gallery, West Hollywood, CA | Group |
2010 | Leave It Alone & Together At Last - Barry McGee & Clare Rojas | Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA | Group |
2010 | Brush Strokes, Todd James & Lydia Fong | V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark | Group |
2010 | The Last Night, Lydia Fong & Huskmitnavn | Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium | Group |
2010 | The 75th Anniversary Show | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2010 | Viva la Revolucion: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape | Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego - MCASD Downtown, San Diego, CA | Group |
2010 | DRAW - Muestra de dibujo contemporáneo | Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City | Group |
2010 | Orde di segnatori | Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy | Group |
2009 | Mr Brown | Bonomo Gallery, Rome, Italy | Solo |
2009 | Mind The Gap, Barry, McGee & Phil Frost | Prism Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2009 | Born in the Streets | Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, France | Group |
2009 | American Realities, Lydia Fong, Clare Rojas & Andrew Jeffrey Wright | New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2009 | McGee, Templeton, Pettibon | CC: Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin, Germany | Group |
2009 | Work Now | Z33 Hasselt Art Centre, Hasselt, Belgium | Group |
2009 | 75 Years Looking Forward: The Anniversary Show | San Francisco Museum of Modern | Group |
2009 | Art mindthegap | Prism, Los Angeles, LA | Group |
2009 | Installations InsideOut, | Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA | Group |
2009 | When Crooks Roam The Streets | Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France | Group |
2009 | Lyon Biennale | Lyon, France | Group |
2009 | Born in the streets-Graffiti | Foundation Cartier, Paris, France | Group |
2009 | San Francisco Art Institute Alumni & Faculty: A Thin Slic | Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2009 | Get Rich Quick | Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art, Culver City, CA | Group |
2009 | Liberation Upon Contact | Ratio 3, San Francisco | Group |
2009 | Galaxy: A Hundred or So Stars Visible to the Naked Eye | University of California, Berkeley Art Museum | Group |
2009 | Business is (still) business | Centre Culture Les Chiroux, Liege, Belgium | Group |
2008 | The Big Sad: Barry McGee & Clare Rojas | Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA | Group |
2008 | Street Art | Tate Modern, London, UK | Group |
2008 | And Then Again… Printed Sets and Series, 1550-2007 | Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2008 | 15 Year Anniversary Exhibition | Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Kopenhagen, Denmark | Group |
2008 | Beautiful Losers: Arte Actual y Cultura Urbana | La Casa Encendida, Valencia, Spain | Group |
2008 | Draw | Stolenspace Gallery, London, UK | Group |
2008 | Pacific Light: California Watercolor Refracted, 1907 – 2007 | Nordic Watercolor Museum (Nordiska Akvarellmuseet), Skärhamn, Sweden | Group |
2008 | Gravity, Coleccion Ernesto Esposito | ARTIUM Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporaneo, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain | Group |
2008 | Len Lye : A Colour Box | Arcade Fine Arts, London, England | Group |
2008 | A Moment for Reflection – New Work by Lydia Fong | Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA | Solo |
2008 | They Don’t Make this Anymore | BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom | Solo |
2008 | Barry McGee & Clare Rojas | Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA | Solo |
2008 | Dripsy | Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France | Group |
2008 | Life on Mars | the 55th Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, PA | Group |
2007 | Alpha | Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2007 | EUPHORION | Pierogi Gallery, Leipzig, Germany | Group |
2007 | Kinky Sex (Makes the World Go Round) | Lizabeth Oliveria Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2007 | Barry McGee | The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan | Solo |
2007 | Barry McGee | Butler Gallery, Kilkenney Castle, Ireland | Solo |
2007 | Barry McGee | Redcat Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2007 | Existencias | MUSAC, Leon, Spain | Group |
2007 | Mapping the Self | Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL | Group |
2007 | Silly Adult | Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark | Group |
2007 | Mad Love—Young Art from Danish Private Collections | ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark | Group |
2007 | Pacific Light: California Watercolor Refracted, 1907 – 2007 | The International Center for the Arts at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2007 | Drawing is a Fine Art | Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL | Group |
2007 | Sign Language | Des Moines Center for the Arts, Des Moines, IA | Group |
2007 | American Art in China | organized by the Guggenheim Museum, MoCA, Los Angeles, CA in Shanghai, China | Group |
2007 | Advanced Mature Work | Redcat, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2006 | We Have a Friend in Common | Nicolai Wallner Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark | Solo |
2006 | The Art of Robert Pimple | Paule Anglim Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Solo |
2006 | Meditations In An Emergency | Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, MI | Group |
2006 | Spank the Monkey | BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom | Group |
2006 | Do Not Stack | Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2006 | Sound Zero | Kunst Meran, Merano, Italy | Group |
2006 | Beautiful Losers | La Triennale de Milano, Italy | Group |
2006 | Beautiful Losers | Le Tri Postal, Lille, France | Group |
2006 | Don’t Abandon the Ship | Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston, MA | Group |
2006 | Pure Land, Liquid Paper | Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2006 | Work Zones – Three Decades of Contemporary Art | Walter and McBean Galleries, San Francisco Art institute, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2006 | Clare Rojas & project space by Barry McGee | Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark | Group |
2006 | I Love Art 8 | Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan | Group |
2006 | Portraits | Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2005 | On Line | The Louisiana Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark | Group |
2005 | Easy Tonto, Stuart Shave | Modern Art, London, England | Solo |
2005 | One More Thing | Deitch Projects, New York, NY | Solo |
2005 | John Kaldor Art Projects | Metropolitan Meat Market, Melbourne, Australia | Solo |
2005 | Things Are Really Getting Better | Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands | Solo |
2005 | Barry McGee | Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, Spain | Solo |
2005 | Beautiful Losers, contemporary Art and Street Culture | Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD | Group |
2005 | Untitled | Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2005 | Beautiful Losers, contemporary Art and Street Culture | University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL | Group |
2004 | Barry McGee, Josh Lazcano & Friends | Project Space Headlands Center for the Arts, Fort Barry-Sausalito, CA | Group |
2004 | Color Wheel Oblivion | Marella Arte Contemporanea Milan, Italy | Group |
2004 | Between Art and Life | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2004 | Other Artistocrats | Alexander and Bonin, New York, NY | Group |
2004 | Barry McGee and Josh Lazcano | Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2004 | Barry McGee | Prada Foundation, Milan, Italy | Solo |
2004 | Barry McGee | Modern Art, London, United Kingdom | Solo |
2004 | Barry McGee | Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA | Solo |
2004 | Barry McGee | Meat Market Gallery, Melbourne, Australia | Solo |
2004 | Barry McGee | Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Boston, MA | Solo |
2004 | Barry McGee | John Kaldor Projects, Sydney, Austraila | Solo |
2004 | Monument to Now | The Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens, Greece | Group |
2004 | Beautiful Losers | The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinatti, OH | Group |
2003 | Ten by Twenty | Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2003 | Surf Style | 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2003 | A Way With Words | John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2003 | Outerspace Hillbilly | The Luggage Store, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2003 | Scribble & Scripture | Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2003 | Session the Bowl | Deitch Projects, New York, NY | Group |
2002 | The Broken Down Mysterious Doors of the Impossible | Lump Gallery, Raleigh, NC | Group |
2002 | Liverpool Biennale | Liverpool, United Kingdom | Group |
2002 | Drawing Now | Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY | Group |
2002 | Barry McGee | Prada Foundation, Milan , Italy | Solo |
2002 | Barry McGee | Modern Art, London, England | Solo |
2002 | Barry McGee | Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA | Solo |
2001 | Holdfast, Barry McGee & Margaret Kilgallen | Deste Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece | Group |
2001 | Un Art Populaire | Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France | Group |
2001 | Widely Unknown | Deitch Projects, New York, NY | Group |
2001 | Venice Biennial | Venice, Italy | Group |
2000 | Street Market | Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan | Group |
2000 | Street Market | Deitch Projects, New York, NY | Group |
2000 | Indelible Market | Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA | Group |
2000 | Barry McGee | UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2000 | Barry McGee | Alleged Galleries, Tokyo, Japan | Solo |
2000 | Made in California | Los Angels County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
1999 | Hoss | Rice Universtiy Art Gallery, Houston, TX | Solo |
1999 | The Buddy System | Deitch Projects, New York, NY | Solo |
1999 | Robert Crumb, Phillip Guston, Barry McGee | Paul Morris Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
1998 | Regards | Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN | Solo |
1998 | Art From Around the Bay | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1997 | Drawing Installation | Galerie Tanya Rumpff, Harlem, Netherlands | Group |
1997 | Drawing Today | San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1997 | Barry McGee | John Bergruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Solo |
1997 | Bay Area Now | Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1996 | SECA Art Award | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1996 | Figureheads & Red Herrings | Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
1996 | Acme Custom | Acme Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1996 | Wall Drawings | The Drawing Center, New York, NY | Group |
1996 | City Folk | Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
1995 | Installation, Art & Design Studio | K&T Lionheart LTD, Boston , MA | Solo |
1995 | Degenerate Art | The Lab, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1995 | Post No Bills | Acme Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1995 | Barry McGee | Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA | Solo |
1995 | Missed Connections, Market Street Installation | Luggage Store, 509 Cultural Center Annex, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1995 | Installation | Street Art Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
1995 | The Library | New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1995 | Big Jesus Trash Can | Victoria Room, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1995 | Barry McGee | Center Annex, San Francisco, CA | Solo |
1995 | Installation, Art & Design Studio | K&T Lionheart LTD, Boston, MA | Solo |
1994 | Installation | Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, CA | Solo |
1993 | Installation | Museum Laser Segall, Sao Paulo, Brasil | Solo |
1993 | Twelve Bay Area Painters: The Eureka Fellowship Winners | San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose | Group |
1993 | Texture of Nature | Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA | Group |
1993 | Folklore | Luggage Store, 509 Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1993 | Installation | La Raza Graphics Center, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1992 | U.C. Santa Cruz | Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA | Group |
1992 | Barry McGee | Maseu Lasar Segall, Sao Paulo, Brasil | Solo |
1991 | Wet Paint | Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1991 | 3Play | Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1991 | Wall of Resistance, Wall of Shame | UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA | Group |
1991 | Art Against the War | A.T.A. Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
1991 | Multicultural Show | Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |