A revered figure in the West Coast graffiti subculture (typically associated with the skater and surfer communities), Barry McGee makes drawings, paintings, and mixed-media installations inspired by urban culture that incorporate elements such as empty liquor bottles and spray-paint cans, tagged signs, wrenches, and scrap wood or metal. McGee is also a graffiti artist, having produced work on the streets since the 1980s under the tag name “Twist”; his signature motif is the face of a man with sagging, tired eyes, rendered in an efficient linear style. McGee and his wife, artist Margaret Kilgallen were featured in the film Beautiful Losers, a 2008 documentary about Street Art and the DIY aesthetic.

Chris Johanson’s wildly colorful artistic productions are musings on phenomena in contemporary life—including the psychological perils of consumerism, cult spirituality, and self-help. Johanson’s career stems from his early activities in the Northern California punk scene, in which he produced ephemera, posters, and zines. Johanson’s oeuvre now includes paintings, drawings, installation, and sculpture. His early style was characterized by its raw humor, cartoon-like aesthetic, and incorporation of reclaimed materials, like wood and paper from dumpsters and construction sites. In later works, Johanson has used more simplified forms, abstract forms and conceptual themes.