Born in San Francisco, California, USA
Lives and works in San Francisco, California, USA

Barry MCGEE

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.

McGee’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at museums and institutions including Fondazione Prada, Milan; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, California; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, California. His works are part of public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the UC Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; New Art Gallery Walsall, United Kingdom; and Fondazione Prada, Venice.
 

view all
loader

education

1991
B.F.A. in Painting & Printmaking, San Francisco Art Institute

solo shows

2024
OLDE IFFY, ISETAN Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

2023
Earthworm, Perrotin, Los Angeles, CA, USA

2022
Everyday sunrise, Perrotin, Seoul, South Korea

2021
Fuzz Gathering, Perrotin, Paris, France
TAR PIT, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2020
Potato Sack Body, Perrotin, Tokyo, Japan 

2019
The Other Side, Perrotin, Hong Kong, China

2018
Little Savage, Eighteen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Auto Body, Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society, Bellport, NY, USA
SB Mid-Summer Intensive, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA

2016
Untitled, Sites Unseen, Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA, USA 
MC06, Monster Children Magazine, Sydney, Australia

2015
China Boo, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA
 
2013
FOCUS: Barry McGee, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Barry McGee, Mid-Career Survey, Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston, Boston, MA, USA 
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA
 
2012
Barry McGee, Mid-Career Survey, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA, USA
 
2011
Workshop Arte Contemporanea, Venice, Italy
New Work, Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, UK
 
2010
Leave it Alone, Barry McGee & Clare Rojas, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA, USA
The Last Night (two person show with HuskMitNavn), Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
 
2009
Mr. Brown, Galleria Alessandra Bonomo, Rome, Italy
 
2008
A Moment for Reflection: New Work by Lydia Fong, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA
The Big Sad: Barry McGee & Clare Rojas, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA, USA
They Don’t Make this Anymore, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK

2007
The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Butler Gallery, Kilkenney Castle, Ireland
Advanced Mature Work, Redcat Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
 
2006
Loft, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA, USA
We Have a Friend in Common, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Art of Robert Pimple, Paule Anglim Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
 
2005
Easy Tonto, Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, UK
One More Thing, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
Things Are Really Getting Better, Museum Het Domein Sittard, Sittard, Netherlands
 
2004
Barry McGee, curated by Raphaela Platow, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Boston, MA, USA
John Kaldor Art Projects, The stars were aligned.., Metropolitan Meat Market, Melbourne, Australia

2002
Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy
Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, UK
Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA, USA
 
2000
Hammer Projects: Barry McGee, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
 
1999
Hoss, Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
The Buddy System, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
 
1998
Regards, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
 
1995
Installation, Art & Design Studio/ K&T Lionheart LTD, Boston, MA, USA
 
1994
Installation, Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, CA, USA
 
1993
Installation, Museum Laser Segall, São Paulo, Brazil

group shows

2024
Into View: New Voices, New Stories – Speculative Fabulation, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, USA

2023 
Groove: Artists and Intaglio Prints, 1500 to Now, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
New Ground: Jacob Samuel and Contemporary Etching, Museum of Modern Art, NY, USA
BEYOND THE STREETS SHANGHAI, Shanghai, China
Shapeshifters, T & Y Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Exit Through The Surf Shop, Ancillary Studios, Costa Mesa, CA, USA

2022
Aichi Triennale, Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan
De Renava Biennale, Corsica, France

2021
R3DTLA, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA
Sea Change, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA

2020
Messenger, Perrotin, Shanghai, China
Kaleidoscopes: Contemporary Portraiture, Perrotin, Hong Kong, China

2018
Beyond the Streets, multi-media installations spread throughout Los Angeles, CA, USA
People, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
Magic, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA, USA 
 
2017
10th Anniversary, Gallery Target, Tokyo, Japan
The Present Tense: R. Crumb / Barry McGee, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA
Sea Sick in Paradise, curated by Amy Yao, Malibu Village and Dean & Deluca, Malibu, CA, USA
Stay Gold – Todd James, Geoff McFetridge, Barry McGee and Thomas Campbell, VI Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Big Sky Little Moon, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
 
2016
New to the Cantor, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA 
 
2015
FUD, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark 
SCAPES, Auto Body, Bellport, NY

2014
Green Circle, Black Diamond, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA
Honolulu 014, RVCA x The Seventh Letter Pop-Up, Pow! Wow! Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
Department of Neighborhood Services, Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, USA
ENERGY THAT IS ALL AROUND/Mission School, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York
, NY, USA
Fertile Found: Art and Community in California, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA, USA
Clare Rojas and Barry McGee, Galleria Alessandra Bonomo, Rome, Italy
..And Color, Anglim Gilbert Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA

2013
ENERGY THAT IS ALL AROUND, San Francisco Art Institute Walter & McBean Galleries, San Francisco, CA, USA
(Almost) Free Formed: Chris Johanson, Barry McGee, and Laurie Reid in Collaboration, City College Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
Theatrical Gestures, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, Israel 
Proximities 2: Knowing Me, Knowing You, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, USA
Wood, Glass, Paper, Galleria Alessandra Bronomo, Rome, Italy 
 
2012
Street, The New Art Gallery Walsall, West Highlands, UK 
The Road Ahead, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA, USA 
Fresh Kills, Anonymous Gallery, New York, NY, USA 
The Art of the Joke, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark 
Domesticated Souls, Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 
DFW, Arts Le Havre 2012 – Biennale d’Art Contemporain, Le Havre, France 
Portrait of a Generation, The Hole NYC, New York, NY, USA 
Paule Anglim Contemporary Arts Center, San Francisco, CA, USA 

2011
Sydney Laneways, Sydney, Australia

Art in The Streets, The Geffen Contemporary at Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Let’s Go Bombing Tonight, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Postermat, The Hole, New York, NY, USA
50 Years of Bay Area Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, USA 
New York Minute, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, Russia 
I Love Art 11, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan 
Freeflow, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA, USA 
After Hours: Murals on the Bowery, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY, USA 
Contemporaries, Patricia Armocida Gallery, Milan, Italy 
 
2010
Outside The Box, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
, CA 
They Knew What They Wanted, Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
, CA, USA
Brush Strokes, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Transfer, Brazilian Cultural Pavilion, Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo, Brazil
Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
Pleasure Point: Celebrating 25 Years of Contemporary Collectors, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
DRAW, Museo de la Cludad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico 
Muddguts Meets Homebase, MAMA Rotterdam, Netherlands 
Leave It Alone & Together At Last, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA, USA 
The Last Night, Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 

2009
75 Years Looking Forward: The Anniversary Show, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
, CA, USA
Mindthegap, Prism, Los Angeles
, CA, USA
New York Minute, MACRO FUTURE, Rome, Italy

2009 Lyon Biennale, Lyon, France

Born in the Streets-Graffiti, Foundation Cartier Paris, France

Liberation Upon Contact, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA
Barry McGee / Ed Templeton / Raymond Pettibon, Circleculture Gallery, Berlin, Germany

Galaxy: A Hundred or So Stars Visible to the Naked Eye, University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA, USA
Installations Inside/Out, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA, USA 
When Crooks Roam the Streets, Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France 
 
2008
Len Lye: A Colour Box, Arcade Fine Arts, London, UK
Dripsy, Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France
Life on Mars: The 55th Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
15 Year Anniversary Exhibition, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark 
Macrocosm, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA, USA 
 
2007
Alpha, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA
EUPHORION, Pierogi Gallery, Leipzig, Germany

Kinky Sex (Makes the World Go ‘Round), Lizabeth Oliveria Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Mapping the Self, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL, USA 
Art in America, Now, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China 
Silly Adults, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark 
Recent Acquisitions from the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Los Angeles, CA, USA 
Hammer Contemporary Collection: Part II, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA 

2006
Meditations in an Emergency, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI, USA
Spank the Monkey, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK
Summer Show, Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, UK
Sumer Zero, Kunst Meran, Merano, Italy 
Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture, La Triennale de Milano, Italy 
Pure Land / Liquid Paper, Ratio 3, San Francisco, CA, USA 
I Love Art 8, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan 
Portraits, Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA 
Panic Room: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection, DESTE Foundation, Center for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece 

2005
On Line, The Louisiana Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, Spain
Untitled, Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA , USA 

2004
Barry McGee / Josh Lazcano, Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
Other Aristocrats, Alexander and Bonin, New York, NY, USA
Monument to Now, The Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens, Greece

Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Eye of the Needle, Roberts & Tilton, Los Angeles, CA, USA
 
2003
Scribble & Scripture, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA, USA
Outerspace Hillbilly, The Luggage Store, San Francisco, CA, USA

2002
Liverpool Biennale, Liverpool, UK
Drawing Now: Eight Propositions, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Session the Bowl, Jeffrey Deitch, New York 

2001
Holdfast: Barry McGee & Margaret Kilgallen, Deste Foundation Center for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
Un art populaire, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, France
Widely Unknown, Jeffrey Deitch, New York, NY, USA
49th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
 
2000
Street Market, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

Street Market, Deitch Projects, New York, NY, USA
Indelible Market, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA
 
1999
Robert Crumb, Philip Guston, Barry McGee, Paul Morris Gallery, NY, USA 
 
1998
Art from Around the Bay, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, USA
 
1997
Drawing Installation, Galerie Tanya Rumpff, Haarlem, Netherlands
New Work: Drawings Today, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA, USA
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA

1996
SECA Art Award, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, USA
WAVEFORMS, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Figureheads & Red Herrings, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Acme Custom, Acme Gallery, San Francisco
, CA, USA
Wall Drawings, The Drawing Center, New York
, NY, USA
City Folk, Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY, USA
 
1995
Degenerate Art, The Lab, San Francisco, CA, USA
Post No Bills, Acme Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland
Missed Connections, Market Street Installation, Luggage Store/509 - Cultural Center Annex, San Francisco
, CA, USA
New Langton Arts, San Francisco
, USA
The Library, New Langton Arts, San Francisco
, CA, USA
Big Jesus Trash Can, Victoria Room, San Francisco, CA, USA

1993
Twelve Bay Area Painters: The Eureka Fellowship Winners, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA, USA
Texture of Nature, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA, USA
Folklore, Luggage Store, 509 Cultural Center, San Francisco Installation, La Raza Graphics Center, San Francisco, CA, USA
 
1992
U.C. Santa Cruz, Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
 
1991
Wet Paint, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA, USA
3/Play, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA, USA
Installation, Diego Rivera Galley, San Francisco
, CA, USA
Wall of Resistance, Wall of Shame, UC Berkeley, Berkeley Art, CA, USA
Art Against the War, A.T.A. Gallery, San Francisco
, CA, USA
Multicultural Show, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA

public collections

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA, USA
Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive, Berkely, CA, USA
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
The New Art Gallery, Walsall, UK
Fondazione Prada, Venice, Italy
The Margulies Collection at the WAREhOUSE, Miami, FL, USA
UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Powerlong Museum, Shanghai, China

awards

1996
SECA Art Award San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
 
1994
The Creative Work Fund, Walter and Elise Haas Fund
 
1993
Lila Wallace, Readers Digest International Artist Program Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhacker Foundation
 
1991
Merit Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute
 
1990
Carson Paper Award Merit Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute
 
1989
Sobel Scholarship, San Francisco Art Institute
 

  • September 10, 2023
    NYLON China — 3 PAGES

  • February 24, 2023
    How to Spend It — 4 PAGES

  • February 24, 2023
    Juxtapoz — 3 PAGES

  • December 1, 2021
    Artpress — 3 PAGES

  • February 1, 2018
    The Brooklyn Rail — 7 PAGES

"EARTHWORM" AT PERROTIN LOS ANGELES

"EARTHWORM" AT PERROTIN LOS ANGELES

Barry MCGEE

"I FEEL THE WAY YOU FEEL" AT PERROTIN SHANGHAI

"I FEEL THE WAY YOU FEEL" AT PERROTIN SHANGHAI

Barry MCGEE

PREVIEW OF PERROTIN LOS ANGELES

PREVIEW OF PERROTIN LOS ANGELES

Barry MCGEE

"FUZZ GATHERING" AT PERROTIN PARIS

"FUZZ GATHERING" AT PERROTIN PARIS

Barry MCGEE