Barry McGee

The ten prints in Drypoint on Acid are filled with the unusual characters, the sad sacks, and the down and out who are frequently the denizens of the world created by McGee. These figures evoke, among other things, the homeless or transient population of San Francisco, the city where McGee lives and works and where he got his start in the 1980s making graffiti under the moniker Twist. Since that time McGee has become a major figure in the bicoastal youth subculture that thrives on skateboarding, graffiti, surfing, punk rock, and other forms of street culture that exert increasing influence on the visual arts, music, fashion, and literature.
Contemporary urban culture provides the inspiration and the content for McGee's work. His installations often incorporate accumulations of found objects and detritus such as empty bottles, thrift-store picture frames, and discarded signs. He continues this practice in Drypoint on Acid by using collage elements from his vast collection of old industrial printed papers, which he embellishes with his own images of those who live on the margins of society. His prints combine a cartoon sensibility with an uncensored view of the harsh realities of urban life, resulting in sympathetic and evocative portraits of those left behind.