barry mcgee at bam · N^o1422

On August 24, Barry McGee’s mid-career retrospective opened at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA). Curated by BAM/PFA Director Lawrence Rinder with Assistant Curator Dena Beard, the exhibition is sponsored by Citizens of Humanity and explores over two decades of McGee’s formal and thematic development.

Presenting a diverse range of work from the past 23 years, the exhibition features rarely seen early work as well as several of McGee’s most important large-scale installations. These include: a tower of nearly 80 television sets; a bodega market; animatronic taggers; and a 150-foot three-dimensional cluster of paintings, drawings, and photographs. Adjacent galleries display a selection of McGee’s work from the late 1980s to the present, featuring a number of rarely seen early works and many collaborative projects, including drawings, paintings, sculpture, video, zines, and some unexpected media.

In addition to the retrospective, Citizens of Humanity will present a series of gallery discussion and art-making field trips for East Bay elementary school students. Led by experienced artist-instructors, the workshops will encourage students to discover Barry McGee’s artwork and engage with themes that relate to their social studies curriculum.

The retrospective runs through December 9.
















Photos by Stefan Kocev for Citizens of Humanity