Barry McGee has returned to Los Angeles, and he has brought company. The graffiti writer turned contemporary art star has opened Another Round at Jeffrey Deitch's Santa Monica Boulevard space, a sprawling exhibition that follows his anti-art fair presentation 99CENTS earlier this year.
Running through January 30, 2027, the show fills the gallery with more than 200 of McGee's paintings, sculptures and photographs. It marks his first outing with Deitch in 20 years, and in the same spirit as the Frieze anti-fair, it comes together with plenty of help from his friends. Hundreds of works by collaborators and peers share the walls, including a mini fabrication of 99CENTS.
Although it is billed as a solo show, Another Round plays more like a portrait of where McGee sits in the art world: his eye as a curator and his singular position between high and low culture. He seems well aware of the contradiction. “In this day and age, a solo anything seems ridiculous,” he has said, adding that “the ego of the artist is a tricky thing.”
The installation leans into abundance. In the main gallery, a swollen hang of prints and photographs seems to ooze off the walls, while kaleidoscopic tiled works are scattered throughout the space. Wedged in between are pieces by CHITO, Chris Lux, Todd James, Tom Franco and C. R. Stecky III, along with a painted bench by Alfonzo Gonzalez Jr., among many others.
Another Round is on view at Jeffrey Deitch, Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, through January 30, 2027.