Barry McGee

Untitled

€600

Artwork

Edition of 43078.0 (H) × 50.0 (W) cm

Sold out

Love this work?

Subscribe to get notified about any cancellations and early access on next releases.

Neon-hued esoterica from the mind of Barry McGee.

Our first collaboration with Barry McGee is a greatest hits style montage of his life in San Francisco. From disgruntled looking Everyman heads – an allegory for the city’s ‘invisible’ homeless population – to acronyms for the graffiti crews he tags with, the untitled print rewards those familiar with the artist’s expansive and experimental practice. Improvised abstract geometries fill the gaps, providing “areas to rest the eye” and loading the print with McGee's distinct aesthetic code.

Used iteratively across his paintings and installations, once-specific symbols take on looser meanings. Letters become “mantras of some sort” and floating heads “placeholders or punctuation.”

Finished with fluorescent pink silkscreen details and a layer of matte varnish, the edition will be printed post-launch at Make-Ready in London.

Go deeper

03:25
00:39

Behind the scenes

Barry McGee walking away from a wall – the image is partially-obscured by 4 sky blue circles

Barry McGee3 collaborationsBarry McGee has lived in San Francisco his whole life. He's travelled across the world to exhibit at prestigious galleries and museums but still finds inspiration in the unexpected beauty of his home. His journey to becoming an artist started back in the 1980s. "We were on the fringe," says McGee, talking about the friends he used to do graffiti with as a teenager. "It's the outcasts, all of the straggly kids that figure out how to work the system." After finishing art school in 1991, Barry became a key member of the Mission School. The group's low-fi aesthetic drew from the grittiness and beauty of city life. "It's kind of dirty, kind of broken," says McGee. "It's basically the whole mess of it that makes it work."

Who else should know about this work?

Help us spread the word

Reviews from Avant collectors

Overall very good communication the work itself is great quality!
Review of Portrait and Head
i loved the details of the note and gloves. well done!
Review of Ringers #962: The LACMA Iterations
Gorgeous! Really blown away by the packaging.
Review of Untitled
amazing experience throughout, from the actual purchase to the delivery. it was well package and the unboxing was a sweet experience! can’t wait to have it framed and to hang it on my wall!
Review of La Nascita
Expertly packaged & printed. We be getting it properly framed to hang. Thank you!
Review of Actual Size
artwork is simply exquisite and Avant Arte’s customer service was exceptional as always. Thank you!
Review of Inner Love
Great service overall, makes an easy process for buying and shipping art which is typically difficult and expensive.
Review of Guardian
Notifications and packaging were spot on. I will definitely make future purchases.
Review of Iris

Discover more print editions on Avant Arte

See all

Available

Marcela FloridoBLOOM€750

Available

Jack KaidoICYMI, 2024€2,500

Draw

Julian SchnabelDon’t Let It Bring You Down, It’s Only Castles Burning (For Neil Young) I€1,500Closing on 25 September

Draw

Salvador DalíThe Spectre of Sex Appeal€500Closing in 00h 00m 00s