Xanda McCagg

Observer (Abstract painting)

2015

Notice-ing (Abstract painting) Oil and graphite on canvas. Unframed. This work is rooted in the human figure, but is abstracted. The forms could be construed as figures in space –s...

On Being Noted (Abstract painting) Oil and graphite on canvas. Unframed. This work is part of McCagg “Portrait/Icon” series, an expansion of her current work depicting natural and ...

Blue white line (Abstract painting) Oil and graphite on canvas. The artwork is not framed. In this painting, McCagg simplified the composition by playing with layering to create a ...

Estuary 1 (Abstract Drawing) Graphite and acrylic on linen - Unframed This fluid abstract painting is intuitively made with a loaded brush graphite and acrylic on linen. The inter...

Graphite and acrylic on linen - Unframed This fluid abstract painting is intuitively made with a loaded brush graphite and acrylic on linen. The intersecting multi-layered forms cr...

Estuary 1 (Abstract Drawings) Graphite and acrylic on linen - Unframed This fluid abstract painting is intuitively made with a loaded brush graphite and acrylic on linen. The inte...

Bettina Mauel, an internationally collected artist, effortlessly channels vitality and sensuality through her awe-inspiring collection of abstract and figurative paintings. With an u...

Contemporary mixed media (acrylic, pastel, pencil, and collage) abstract floral painting by emerging artist Federica Aiello Pini, exploring nature...

Urban abstract expressionism artist Tommy Lennartsson draws on the visual culture of street and pop art when creating his original vibrant mixed-medi...

"Prana" is an abstract expressionist painting by Rebecca Sobin executed in oil, cold wax medium, and graphite on a cradled wood panel; measuring 36 x 36 inches. Titled "Prana" the ...

"It's Springtime Somewhere In the World" is an abstract painting by Rebecca Sobin executed in oil, cold wax medium, and pastel powder, and rice paper on a cradled wood panel; measuri...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Animal Spirit I" is a dynamic expression of McGee's mythical animal spirits. Hand signed and dated lower right front and on the verso signed and titled. Painting and mixed media present a complex scene that incorporates use of graphite and acrylic paint on thick handmade paper. Michelle Oka Doner was invited to participate in McGee's studio in the early 1980s and brought her handmade paper skills to share engaging McGee in this creative pursuit. McGee continued to develop these spiritual creatures throughout his career as can be seen in a piece from 1984, "Noah's Ark: Genesis, 1984," on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, his brilliant 2005 "Progression" a 45-foot wide aluminum sculpture at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, and his stunning 2016 "United We Stand" sculpture at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History . His genius can be seen in sculpture installments throughout the city of Detroit. "Animal Spirit I" is signed and dated lower right. Charles McGee was born into a family of sharecroppers. While helping his grandfather tend the land, "he observed firsthand the order and harmony that exists within nature." He had no formal schooling until moving to Detroit at age 10, where he found that "everything was on the move and it hasn’t slowed down yet." in 2017 he observed, "I learned something not being in school — because life is school . . .I learn something every time I move. Every time I go around a corner, something new is revealed to me.” McGee took advantage of the GI Bill to attend classes at the Society of Arts and Crafts, now the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Other College for Creative Studies faculty and graduates include Richard Jerzy, Harry Bertoia, Doug Chaing (currently director of Lucas Film), Stephen Dinehart (game maker, writer, designer connected with The David Lynch Foundation), Tyree Guyton (international artist), Herb Babcock , Jerome Feretti, Kevin Siembieda (writer, designer and publisher of role-playing games), Renee Radell (American Expressionist formerly from Detroit and New York), Philip Pearlstein, Charles McGee (nationally recognized African American sculptor of animal and dancing spirits), Philip Pearlstein (2000 Honorary Doctorate, Modern Realism style), John Louis Krieger (American Modern) and William Girard (American Modern.) After retiring from the Corps of Engineers, McGee spent 1968 studying art in Barcelona. Despite not knowing the language at the outset, he immersed himself in the culture and opened himself to a whole new range of experience that would play out in his artwork. "If you free yourself, you have this kind of opportunity to have those experiences, horizons, and new vistas." (per interview with Nick Sousanis. He returned to Detroit and curated "Seven Black Artists" at the Detroit Artists Market in 1969, which along with McGee himself, included Lester Johnson, Henri Umbaji King, Robert Murray, James Lee, Allie McGhee...