Allie McGhee facts for kids
Allie McGhee (born in 1941) is an amazing African American painter from Detroit, Michigan. He has been a big part of the Detroit art scene since the 1960s. Allie went to Cass Technical High School in Detroit and then Eastern Michigan University.
His paintings are like swirling dances of colors and materials. He uses industrial paint and other found things. Allie gets ideas from African beliefs, symbols, and even free jazz music. His art explores how things can be planned or happen by accident.
Allie McGhee creates both paintings and sculptures. He often uses collage, drapes, and still compositions. His art shows beautiful colors mixing together in stains, dashes, and waves. One of his special styles is called Crushed Paintings. For these, he takes art on vinyl, canvas, or paper and shapes them into unique forms.
Allie McGhee is part of a group of important Black abstract painters. This group includes artists like Sam Gilliam, Ed Clark, Jack Whitten, and McArthur Binion. You can find his artwork in famous places like the Detroit Institute of Arts, the St. Louis Museum of Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Contents
Allie's Story
Allie's Early Life and Art
From a young age, Allie McGhee loved making art. His mother really encouraged him. He even turned their family basement into his first art studio! Allie was very interested in Cubist Art, which uses geometric shapes. He spent his childhood trying to paint like artists such as George Braque.
While making art, Allie also played music every day in his studio. This shows how important music was to his art, even from the beginning.
Gallery 7
In 1969, Allie's friend and mentor, Charles McGee, put together an art show. It was called "Seven Black Artists" at the Detroit Artist Market. Allie McGhee was one of the artists in this show.
Later, this group of artists formed Gallery 7. It was a special art space located in Detroit. At Gallery 7, Allie McGhee taught art classes to young people.
Art Inspired by Space
Over time, Allie McGhee became interested in science and space. He looked at amazing photos from space taken by the Hubble Telescope. These pictures inspired him to create paintings that look like stars, planets, and other things in space.
What Influenced Allie's Art
Before the 1960s, Allie McGhee's art mostly showed people and objects. But then he started making abstract paintings. Abstract art uses shapes, colors, and lines instead of clear pictures.
A Time of Change
Events like the 1967 Detroit Riots and new, experimental jazz music inspired Allie. He began to explore history, improvisation, and science through his abstract art. He felt that showing exact pictures limited his creativity.
The Black Arts Movement also encouraged Black artists to create new, bold art. They wanted art that showed Black culture in a modern way. Allie's art from this time, like Black Attack (1967), shows this powerful period.
Exploring Nature and the Universe
Later, his art like Night Ritual (1991) shows a more universal style. Allie started studying nature, both tiny details and huge parts of the universe. He used simple shapes like lines and curves. His paintings sometimes look like ancient cave drawings or the starry night sky.
Art Shows and Collections
Allie McGhee's work has been shown in many important art exhibitions.
Major Exhibitions
In October 2021, a big show called Banana Moon Horn opened at Cranbrook Art Museum in Michigan. This show looked back at his many years of work.
He has also had solo shows, meaning only his art was featured. These include Allie McGhee: Parallax in New York (2022) and Allie McGhee: The Ritual of The Mask in Detroit (2021).
Group Exhibitions
Allie McGhee's art has also been part of many group shows. Some of these include Harold Neal and Detroit African American Artists (2021) and Art of the Rebellion: Black Art of the Civil Rights Movement (2017) at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Where to See His Art
You can find Allie McGhee's art in many public collections. These are places where art is kept for everyone to see. Some of these include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Public Collections
- Barfield Companies, Livonia, MI
- Detroit Council of the Arts, Detroit, MI
- Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
- Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
- Fondazione Imago Mundi, Treviso, IT
- Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI
- Hooven-Dayton Corporation, Dayton, OH
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL
- Koichiro Iwasaki, Kagoshima, JP
- Martin Luther King Center, Detroit, MI
- Kohler Corporation, Kohler, WI
- Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
- Mott-Warsh Collections, Flint, MI
- St Louis Museum of Art, St. Louis, MO
- The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
- The T.L.C Beatrice Food International, New York, NY
- Toyota City Hall, Toyota, JP
- Washington State University, Seattle, WA
- Your Heritage House, Detroit, MI
