Though best known for the inventive graphic sensibility of his paintings and drawings, McGee’s use of photography is an essential, often underappreciated, component of his artistic vision. Captured at all hours and around the world with whatever camera is at hand, McGee’s images are immediate, casual, intimate, and anarchic all at once. His work boldly employs geometric shapes, clusters of framed drawings and paintings, distinctive characters, and found objects such as empty bottles, surfboards, and wrecked vehicles. Whether incorporated into his iconic multi-element compositions, or printed in the innumerable fanzines and artist’s books that often accompany his exhibitions, photographs pervade McGee’s practice. Barry McGee: Photographs provides unique insight into the process of a major American artist, and is a testament to the immense amount of visual information McGee has absorbed to build one of the most eclectic and innovative artistic legacies of our time.

Barry McGee (born in San Francisco, 1966) is among San Francisco’s most internationally influential artists. He received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is a prominent member of the Mission School, a group of graffiti and DIY artists that emerged from San Francisco’s Mission District in the late 1990s. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including at the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive, California; and Fondazione Prada, Milan, Italy, among others.