Barry McGee Is Back for ‘Another Round’ with Jeffrey Deitch
‘99CENT’ lives on in a hundreds-piece show by McGee (and friends).
Summary
Artist Barry McGee has unveiled a new "solo" exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch's Los Angeles outpost, titled 'Another Round'
The exhibition, running through January 30, 2027, features over 200 paintings, sculptures, and photographs by McGee alongside hundreds of works from friends and collaborators, including a mini fabrication of '99CENTS,' his knockout anti-art fair presentation earlier this year
After he opened a knockout 99CENT in February, artist Barry McGee is back in Los Angeles for Another Round, his new exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch‘s Santa Monica Boulevard space. The graffiti writer-turned contemporary art star gathers over 200 paintings, sculptures, and photographs to envelope the space. It’s his first show with Deitch in 20 years, and in the spirit of the Frieze anti-fair, was made possible with a little help from his friends.
While billed as such, the show is less of a “solo” than a snapshot of McGee’s place in the art world: his curatorial style and unique place in high-low culture. “In this day and age, a solo anything seems ridiculous,” he recently told The Los Angeles Times. “The ego of the artist is a tricky thing.”
Highlights include a bulbous hang of prints and photographs oozing from the walls of the main gallery and kaleidoscopic tiled works peppered throughout. Crowded between them are works by the likes of CHITO, Chris Lux, Todd James, Tom Franco, C. R. Stecky III, and more, like a painted bench by Alfonzo Gonzalez Jr. and KATSU‘s incognito tagger, a robotic arm spraying from the inside of a bush.
Another Round also includes two mock storefronts — galleries within the gallery — created with fellow artist Alexis Ross. One sees a condensed refabrication of the original 99-cent store, linoleum floor, pegboard shelving, and all, spilling with pieces from the show. The other is a bookshop run by Heavy Manners Library’s Matthew James-Wilson, which carries zines, books, T-shirts, and McGee’s favorite granola.
For the exhibition text, Deitch, the gallerist, reflects on his three-decades-long relationship with McGee, seeing the artist’s impact on New York’s art and skating scene, and later inviting him to take part in the 2011 street art show at MOCA during his tenure. Alongside the works, the show places a spotlight on the two’s creative trust, best summed by McGee when he asked Deitch: “Jeffrey, could you give me the keys?”
Another Round by Barry McGee is on view until January 30, 2027.
Jeffrey Deitch Los Angeles
7000 Santa Monica Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90038
