Artist Alysanne McGaffey to Showcase Work Throughout Summer
Beginning
Pride week, June 26, Alysanne McGaffey will showcase her work at the Lost Art
Salon in San Francisco. Fifty of her works will be displayed ‘til August 31.
Alysanne McGaffey was an integral member of the Bay Area Figurative Movement of
the 1950s and ’60s. The Figurative Movement defined Bay
Area painting in the mid-20th century — a pivotal point in the history
of American art.
Discovering a new cache of works from this movement is extremely rare. Many of these pieces have not been exhibited in over 40 years. These works and McGaffey’s personal story create a poignant snapshot of the history of the San Francisco bohemian scene at the mid-century. This show represents the first time Lost Art Salon will be presenting an exhibit and sale of works by a living artist.
The
77-year-old artist will be present the night of the opening.
In the San Francisco Art Institute and the school’s surrounding neighborhood,
North Beach, was the center of this cultural renaissance. It was here
that this Bay Area style began to emerge, taking
the expressionists' gestural handling of paint, often thickly applied, and
merging it with figurative subject matter. They had worked their way through
the crucible of cubism, found it wanting and began to re-examine the figure.
Amidst this scene, McGaffey was developing as a painter, honing her craft.
McGaffey began her studies at the Art Institute in the mid-1950s. She
studied with such prominent artists as Wally Hedrick, Jay DeFeo and Bill Brown.
McGaffey was born and raised in Seattle, Washington.
While working full time in S.F.’s financial district, she enrolled at the Art
Institute — receiving many awards for her works. Over the years she developed
as an artist, attending many of the important art schools of the Bay Area and completed her bachelor’s degree at the College
of Notre Dame in Belmont and went on to complete an master’s of arts in
painting at the University of San Francisco.
Held in the Lost Art Salon, the location is designed in the fashion of an early
20th century European salon and features original modern era art (1900-1960s)
presented in an eclectic residential setting (think Paris
1920s meets industrial urban loft).
The opening reception is on Thursday, June 26, 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. — free to the public
For more info, call 415.861.1530 or visit lostartsalon.com.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 8:24am.
