“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 fact is important because his art would be profoundly different had he chosen to move to another American city.”
McGee attracts inspiration from the West Coast subculture he grew up inside, surrounded by skaters, surfers, and road artists. He has lengthy been concerned about marginalized communities, societal outcasts, and people seen as subversive.
The artist is a key determine of the Mission Faculty, which emerged within the early Nineties via the work of a lot of artists who had been linked 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, complex patterns reminiscent of op art, and immersive installations that explore the human condition,” the gallery says.
I’m Listening erupts with coloration, sample, and texture via 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 rather than labels on glass bottles.
“I focus on everything that is shitty on our little planet right now,” McGee says. Expressions of disgust or shock are paired with playfulness, although. He provides, “I also celebrate all these incredible things that humans invent to stay positive and healthy.” I’m Listening continues via Might 24 in Paris.
