Untitled (The way in is the way out)

2010 - Drawing & Print (Drawing & Print)

Alicia McCarthy

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A painting reminiscent of a certain “naive primitivism,” Untitled (the way in is the way out) is representative of McCarthy’s work. Upon first encounter, her abstract colorful compositions resemble somewhat formal nonrepresentational landscapes. However, a closer inspection reveals the presence of a lowbrow style that draws inspiration both from outsider and folk art traditions.

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San Francisco-based Alicia McCarthy graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 1990s and later pursued an MFA at UC Berkeley. She is now considered part of the first generation of “Mission School” artists, alongside Barry McGee, Rubi Neri, and Rigo23. McCarthy’s early work was largely associated with collective practices, graffiti art, and San Francisco’s active queer punk scene. In line with a trend that rejects the use of consumer goods, McCarthy’s paintings often begin with found materials such as discarded wood panels, on which she paints and draws with acrylic, latex, graphite, or crayon.

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Colors:

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• naive.a.01
• text.n.01
• color.n.01
• low.s.04
• folk_art.n.01
• outsider.n.02
• mission school
• graffiti
• lowbrow art movement
• street art
• san francisco mission district
• calarts
• color theory
• contemporary faux naïf
• graffiti/street art
• american