Lot 29
  • 29

Barry McGee

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Description

  • Barry McGee
  • Rapid Refund Ral  
  • Paint on found wood
  • 68 by 43 cm, 26 3/4 by 17 in.
  • Executed in 2000.

Provenance

Private Collection

Catalogue Note

Barry McGee was born in 1966 in San Francisco, California, where he is currently based.
His works are inspired by urban subculture associated with the skater and surfer communities of the West Coast. McGee’s work also draws on ‘urban ills, overstimulations, frustrations, addictions and trying to maintain a level head under the constant bombardment of advertising,’ as the artist once stated himself. His techniques include painting, drawing and mixed media including spray paint, street signs, wood and metal. Barry McGee has been active as a graffiti artist since the 1980s. He also was an early participant in the practice of painting directly on gallery walls, imitating the intrusive nature of graffiti. Although his works were exhibited since the 1990s, his international fame was revived in 2001 as a result of his being included in the Venice Biennale.
The artist was highly influential on the urban art scene. He popularised use of paint drips in urban-influenced graphic design as well as the gallery display technique of clustering paintings.
McGee and his wife, artist Margaret Kilgallen, were featured in the film Beautiful Losers, a 2008 documentary about Street Art and the DIY aesthetic.