Barry McGee - Contemporary Art Day Sale London Wednesday, October 13, 2010 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Provenance

    Private Collection, California

  • Exhibited

    San Francisco, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Bay Area Now 2, 20 November 1999 - 13 February 2000

  • Catalogue Essay

    The San Francisco Mission School is one of the most important American art movements in recent history. The movement, in which the artists Margaret Kilgallen (lot 187) and Barry McGee (lot 186) are pivotal, can be seen as a regional expression of the larger 'low brow' art movement which emerged in the 1990s. It references the bohemian, hobo and urban culture aesthetic of the Mission neighbourhood in San Francisco by using non-traditional materials such as pen, found objects, spray and household paint.
    Kilgallen, who died in 2001, is best known for her line work and text, in which she found the beauty in the imperfect while striving for the perfect. Her work here consists of hand-painted signs which recall shop windows in the Mission neighbourhood. The messages in her work range from the witty to the sincere, all the while maintaining their homemade aesthetic.
    McGee, on the other hand, is drawn towards the characters who inhabit the Mission's streets and the graffiti which adorn the walls. Both artists have a profound impact upon the artworls and have gained international folowings, as demonstrated by the museum and gallery exhibitions of their work seen worldwide.

186

Untitled

c. 1993-96
Etching and graphite on hand-stitched paper sheets laid on wooden panel.
244.2 x 25.4 cm (96 1/8 x 10 in).

Estimate
£8,000 - 12,000 

Contemporary Art Day Sale

14 October 2010
London