The Artistic Evolution of Allie McGhee
Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Allie McGhee is a Detroit-based African American painter who has been a pillar of the Detroit art community since the 1960s. After attending Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI, he completed his undergraduate work at Eastern Michigan University in 1965. His early interest in art-making began in his family’s basement, where he was drawn to the Cubist Art period and the works of George Braque. While practicing in his studio, McGhee developed a daily ritual of playing music, establishing a potent relationship between his art and sound.
McGhee’s practice transitioned from primarily figurative works to abstract painting. His paintings are lyrical, material-driven works rendered in swirling constellations of industrial paint and found media. His signature style includes Crushed Paintings, in which he turns compositions on vinyl, canvas, or paper into amorphous forms. His work explores the tensions between spontaneity and premeditation, utilizing a fusion of stains, dashes, and waves to create spellbinding visuals.
Themes and Recognition
McGhee’s abstract compositions often draw inspiration from African cosmology, African symbolism, and free jazz. His interest in science and space exploration led him to study photographic captures from the Hubble Telescope, resulting in paintings inspired by astrological forms. His work often documents the micro and macro expressions of nature through recurring symbols like the line and the curve, creating imagery that recalls the celestial sky or prehistoric cave paintings.
His work is held in numerous prestigious collections, including:
- Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
- St. Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis
- Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
- Toyota City Hall, Toyota, JP
McGhee has been the subject of significant exhibitions, such as the retrospective Banana Moon Horn at the Cranbrook Art Museum and solo presentations like Allie McGhee: Parallax at Harper's, New York.
