Hasta La Ideas

As collectives go, the loosely-organized, street art-focused Barnstormers stand out as much for a global scope—they count chapters in New York and Tokyo—as for a growing roster that reads like a who’s who of the genre. The group exhibit opening this Thursday, 18 March 2010 at Joshua Liner Gallery will feature the work of some 35 of these all-stars in a show that highlights each artist individually.

Swoon, David Ellis, Ryan McGinness, KR, Chris Mendoza, Kenji Hirata, Mike Ming, Doze Green and Maya Hayuk, to name a few, all will participate in the massive event which will include painting, video, printmaking, and other mediums.

The Barnstormers formed in 1999 after Ellis led 25 artists to the small town of Cameron in his native North Carolina to paint barns, tractor-trailers and farm equipment. Inspired by the initial collaborative energy, the clique continued working together with phenomenal synchronicity to construct large-scale murals that they describe as “motion paintings.”

While they’ve exhibited as a group before at Cincinnati, OH’s Contemporary Arts Center, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico; The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, HI and North Carolina’s Southeaster Center for Contemporary Art, this Group Exhibition marks the largest to date and the first to celebrate the solo careers of members who’ve made major strides in the past decade.

One of the most well-known of the bunch (who’s lately been getting more attention for his weekly themed events), McGinnness will conduct his “Confessional Booth” via Skype at set hours from Spain where he’s currently working. If this one wildly creative, post-Warhol example of Barnstormers work is any indication, we can say this show isn’t to be missed.