44 - Paul McMahon

321 Gallery is pleased to present 44, a solo exhibition featuring 44 works by Paul McMahon, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Brooklyn, New York.

The objects in this exhibition were created over a 44 year period, from 1971 through to the present, and include painting, sculpture, video, musical recordings, and works on paper. In the early 1970s, McMahon began organizing exhibitions, parties, and rock shows in Cambridge, MA and New York City, playing a vital role in bringing together artists in the post-Conceptual and pre-Pictures generation. During the 1970s, McMahon created a diverse body of work addressing corruption in government, the art world, and pictures themselves. In later decades, he continued producing work as live performances and video, satirizing politicians and the advertising world, often from a shamanic orientation.

Paul McMahon (b. 1950, San Diego, CA) is a musician, artist, writer, producer, curator, minister, and part-time mailman. From 1972-75, he organized over 30 conceptual and performance art shows at Project Inc., his independently run temporary art space in Cambridge, MA. He has played in bands such as Daily Life and A Band, performed parodic routines in shows such as I’m With Stupid at the Kitchen (1977), and duelled one-liner jokes dressed as a giant potato on national TV against Soupy Sales. McMahon’s work has been shown in select group and solo exhibitions including The White Room at White Columns (NYC, 1987); The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984 curated by Douglas Eklund at the Metropolitan Museum (NYC, 2009); Stairway to Heaven at Susan Inglett Gallery (NYC, 2010); and Made in Rosendale at Roos Arts (Rosendale, NY, 2011). McMahon has released ten albums of original music, published two books of humor, and performed as the Rock’n’Roll Therapist since 1980. He received a fellowship in New Genres from the National Endowment for the arts in 1990 and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard acquired the Project Inc. archive in 2010. McMahon graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Pomona College in 1972 and received an MS in Art Education from Mass. College of Art in 1975. He had a Kundalini rising experience in 1988, and in 1993 the Goddess spoke inside his head and told him that he is King of the Universe. He is the proprietor of the Mothership, an everything center in Woodstock, NY, where he lives and works with his twin girls.

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