“Barry McGee lives in San Francisco—he was born there and he lives there,” critic and curator Richard Leydier opens in an essay accompanying the artist’s present solo exhibition, I’m Listening, at Perrotin. “This reality is essential as a result of his artwork could be profoundly completely different had he chosen to maneuver to a different American metropolis.”
McGee attracts inspiration from the West Coast subculture he grew up inside, surrounded by skaters, surfers, and avenue artists. He has lengthy been all for marginalized communities, societal outcasts, and people seen as subversive.
The artist is a key determine of the Mission School, which emerged within the early Nineteen Nineties by way of the work of quite a lot of artists who have been related to the now-defunct San Francisco Artwork Institute. Different influential artists embody Margaret Kilgallen (1967-2001), Ruby Neri, Claire Rojas, and extra, all of whom discover the intersections between city realism, graffiti, American people artwork, and “lowbrow” aesthetics undergirded by social activism.
McGee adopted monikers like “Twist” and “Lydia Fong” in his personal graffiti writing and likewise explored portray and printmaking, which he nonetheless faucets into in his expansive, multidisciplinary apply. He explores “dynamic panel assemblages, advanced patterns harking back to op artwork, and immersive installations that discover the human situation,” the gallery says.
I’m Listening erupts with shade, sample, and texture by way of a bounty of sculptures, work, prints, and assemblages that reimagine on a regular basis objects. Surfboards are cloaked in optical geometric patterns in acrylic paint, and McGee’s signature grimacing, cartoonish faces seem on collages or instead of labels on glass bottles.
“I deal with the whole lot that’s shitty on our little planet proper now,” McGee says. Expressions of disgust or shock are paired with playfulness, although. He provides, “I additionally have a good time all these unimaginable issues that people invent to remain constructive and wholesome.” I’m Listening continues by way of Might 24 in Paris.
