MARGARET KILGALLEN, RARE SHOWING

This is one show we'd love to see. A long time favourite whose loss and work touched many and shaped even more.

Margaret Kilgallen: Summer / Selections
June 23 – August 5, 2011
Ratio 3, 1447 Stevenson Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA
Opening reception: Thursday, June 23, 2011, 6–8pm.

Ratio 3 is pleased to present Margaret Kilgallen: Summer / Selections, on view from June 23 to August 5, 2011.

Margaret Kilgallen (1967–2001) is considered by many to be one of the most influential, yet under-recognized, Bay Area artist of her generation. Kilgallen, along with a handful of other artists such as Barry McGee, Chris Johanson, and Alicia McCarthy, came to emergence in the late 1990s, as part of an art movement that is now commonly referred to as the Mission School.

On view in the gallery will be a selection of works-on-paper and paintings on canvas, some never before seen. Many of the works are painted on discarded pages from books, emphasizing Kilgallen’s resourcefulness and economy of materials. This is also reflected in the canvas works, most of which were cut and sewn together by hand, giving the paintings a quilt-like quality. The imagery depicted includes her iconic motifs such as leaves, trees, topography, and female figures, all of which exemplify Kilgallen’s delicate and adept hand. Her humble, almost folkloric, style pushes some of the imagery into simple abstractions of color, lines, and repeating shapes. This exhibition offers an intimate look into Kilgallen’s very personal and singular vision.

The work of Margaret Kilgallen has been exhibited internationally at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, REDCAT, Los Angeles, UCLA Hammer Museum, The Drawing Center, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, and the DESTE Foundation Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece.

This is the first solo exhibition in San Francisco of Margaret’s work in 13 years.