Perrotin Paris is pleased to present its second solo exhibition with Barry McGee, his sixth with the gallery. Emerging from the vibrant West Coast subculture of skaters, surfers, and graffiti writers that informs his art, San Francisco-based Barry McGee (b. 1966) is a leading figure of the influential Mission School, a 1990s San Francisco movement known for its handmade aesthetic and social activism. Operating under various aliases, most notably Twist, McGee integrates his early experiences as a graffiti writer and printmaker into a diverse multidisciplinary practice. His work encompasses meticulously painted caricatures of society’s outcasts, particularly the homeless population of San Francisco, dynamic panel assemblages, complex patterns reminiscent of op art, and immersive installations that explore the human condition. His exhibitions often foster a sense of community by including contributions from his peers and recent encounters. The following text was written by art critic and curator Richard Leydier on the occasion of this exhibition.
Barry McGee lives in San Francisco—he was born there and he lives there. This fact is important, because his art would be profoundly different had he chosen to move to another American city. The hippie history of this northern Californian city is quite well known, as is its musical lineage, from Carlos Santana to the band Love. But people are less aware of its influential artistic movements, such as Richard Diebenkorn’s Bay Area Figurative Movement or the more abstract Dynaton group featuring Lee Mullican and Gordon Onslow-Ford. McGee’s art has drawn on these worlds, and in the early 1990s he became a key figure of the Mission School movement, alongside artists like Chris Johanson, Alicia McCarthy, and Margaret Kilgallen. He also participated in the seminal 2004 exhibition Beautiful Losers, a legendary show put together by the critic, gallerist, and poet Aaron Rose at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, alongside Tom Sachs and Harmony Korine.
San Francisco is also home to Jack London (1876–1916), a prolific writer who, despite his short life, explored themes of vagrancy and social injustice, rooted in his own experiences as a hobo and social activist, participating in the 1894 march on Washington. In recent years, with the arrival of fentanyl, San Francisco has visibly changed due to increased numbers of what are known as “zombie druggies.”
McGee’s art, informed by lowbrow culture and vernacular art, originates from and maintains a strong connection to the street. He operates not only within the established world of contemporary art, but also holds a revered cult status in the graffiti world. For decades, under aliases such as Twist or Lydia Fong, he engaged in interventions in nocturnal interventions in abandoned areas, cutting fences and spray-painting concrete walls, trains, and other neighourhood surfaces.
This exhibition showcases many objects found during his “urban drifting”–akin to aimless skateboarding–transformed by the artist’s hand. This process of transmutation changes the mundane into something positive and beautiful. The inscription “FYUD”, an acronym for “Forget Your Unfortunate Delusions.” represents the fight against fascism.
I’m Listening. But to what? Barry McGee asks us. Our current era has been disagreeably disrupted by a permanent background noise that worms its way in everywhere, covering all the vibrant sounds of life–the breaking waves, the birdsong... It is what is called the "noise of boots.” And for an artist, it is especially unbearable to hear, because it constricts the very possibility of freedom. There are many grimacing faces here: “I focus on everything that is shitty on our little planet right now. But I also celebrate all these incredible things that humans invent to stay positive and healthy,” the artist says. The recurring motif of cherries is important: “For me, this fruit symbolizes hope and eternal love.” They represent a beacon of light in the face of despair–just like his astoundingly beautiful geometrical paintings with their infinite lines of convergence. It’s the time of cherries and of the enduring cycle of spring and renewal.
Barry McGee’s exhibitions are characterized by their abundance and generosity. Every corner is filled with art, and the artist’s creativity is splashed onto all kinds of media: glass bottles, surfboards, discarded objects, canvases, drawings. Sometimes, almost like art brut. Welcome to North Cal.
Born in San Francisco, California, USA
Lives and works in San Francisco, California, USA
Barry McGee received his BFA in painting and printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute and was associated with the Mission School, a movement primarily influenced by urban realism, graffiti, and American folk art, with a focus on social activism. McGee’s works constitute candid and insightful observations of modern society, and his aim of actively contributing to marginalized communities has remained the same throughout his career, from his days as “Twist” (his graffiti moniker) to his current work as a global artist. Whether it be consumerism or social stratification, McGee has given voice to his concerns through his art, taking on different personas, such as Ray Fong, Lydia Fong, P.Kin, Ray Virgil, and B. Vernon. His trademark motif, a male caricature with droopy eyes, references his empathy for those who identify the streets as their home. His conglomeration of experiences has led McGee to create a unique visual language consisting of geometric patterns, recurring symbols, and the use of the “cluster method,” while experimenting with various unconventional media, including glass bottles and other found objects. His recent large-scale murals and his meticulous archive of paintings and drawings examine the notion of public versus private space and the accessibility of art.
More about the artist
