On Thursday 17 September 2009, Galleria Alessandra Bonomo, Rome, will inaugurate its show on Barry McGee, in collaboration with Deitch Projects. Fusing together found and invented imagery, tags and assorted objects Barry McGee draws on a range of influences including the Mexican muralists, tramp art, the graffiti artists of the 70’s and 80’s and the San Francisco Beat poets to create a unique visual language. The work has the strong immediately recognizable visual signature of the best graffiti art, but is also enormously poetic and evocative. It communicates the artist’s strong empathy with people who have been left behind by contemporary society.

Press release