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Home FEATURES An Interview with Water McBeer

An Interview with Water McBeer

Written by Kid Yellow   
Monday, 25 July 2011 12:00
In a stale state as the SF art scene is, the most successful art dealer and gallery owner in America, Water McBeer is a breath of fresh air to invigorate this horrible mess. His currated show at Ever Gold opens this Saturday July 30th (6-10pm).

First off, tell me some things about yourself and your history/ background in the arts?

My name is Water McBeer owner and founder of The Water McBeer Gallery, a small gallery space dedicated to art excellence. I have also been a prominent art dealer for over 28 years. I received my BA in business economics and my MFA in art criticism from the San Francisco Art Institute and went on to become the most successful art dealer in America. I was raised by my teenage parents in a small hippie commune in Northern California hence the name Water. At the age of 14 I inherited my distant grandfather's extraordinary art collection of over 500 pieces from the most important artists of the 20th century. I own the most valuable art collection of any private collector in San Francisco and my extraordinary Self-confidence, determination and belief in personal freedom have made me the most successful art dealer and gallery owner in America.

What initially got you interested in starting an art gallery?

Well, I've done just about everything, made billions of dollars traveled the world, won a game of golf against Bill Clinton, partied with every celebrity, own 15 cars, a 195 foot yacht, 3 mansions and so it was the only thing left to do.

Can you tell me more about the art you inherited?

My grandfather collected everything from Van Gough to Duchamp and over his lifetime built up an impressive collection among the collections trophies is Pablo Picasso self-portrait yo, Picasso. His collection was worth 1.5 billion dollars. He had an eye for great art. I not only inhereted his collection, but his impeccable sense of taste.

Why did you choose San Francisco, rather than NYC or LA to open a gallery?

Sadly San Francisco stands no chance against LA or NYC. It is my goal to show world class artists in my gallery to highlight San Francisco's artists among the rest of the art world so that they may shine bright in a sea of art darkness. I am here to save San Francisco from its artistic doom and stimulate the art economy with my wealth and power.

It's pretty noble of you to invest your time and money in an art gallery, what are some of your long term goals for the gallery?

I foresee a future of endless possibilities for the Water McBeer Gallery and its artists. I am investing in the future of the San Francisco art community, a future of great wealth and boundless creative expression.

How do you select the artists that you feature?

How does a rinocerous choose a mate?

So are you saying it's a naturalistic process of selection?

When a female rhinoceros is ready to mate she will spray urine on dung piles to alert males that she is in estrus and ready to mate. Males come and urinate on the female’s urine to ward off potential competition. The alpha male will then dominate his competitors and copulation will take place. As a Gallery owner I use a similar process of natural selection. When it comes to artists I simply choose the most superior mate and dominate my competition.

Has your cut throat business model prompted any backlash from the art community or other collectors?

Business is busines,s and if some one doesn't like the way I handle my business they should mind there own business. You've got to fly like an eagle, not be a turkey.

What are some of your thoughts about the artists in the upcoming exhibition?

I assure you it will be a groundbreaking exhibition. The artists are some of the most exceptional creative minds at work today. The wide range of artists in this show both know and unknown young and old explore the most profound subject matter and the most profound lack of subject matter in their work. The exhibition will be stimulating in every way possible. By making the gallery 1:12 scale we have made it possible to exhibit 23 exhibitions simultaneously, something that has never been done before.

Did the scaling differential pose any challenges for the artists?

It has proved to be less challenging for the artists. Material costs are lower, the pace of production is significantly increased and the creative process is not restricted by the limitations of a full scale world.

A man of your stature must have an appetite for success; do you think this exhibition will live up to your expectations?

My wise Grandmother once told me "Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try" This is my method for success I do not try, I do and I have yet to fail to meet my expectations.

I understand you went through a lot of trouble to fit me in your schedule, is there any last words you'd like to add before our time is up?

Come see this very special exhibition July 30th to august 6th Water McBeer at Ever Gold it will be an extravaganza of epicly small proportions

Thank you very much for your time Mr. Mcbeer. It was a pleasure speaking with you.

thank you kid yellow the pleasure is all mine!

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Alex Lukas & Richard Colman @Guerrero Gallery

Last Saturday, here in SF's Mission district, Guerrero Gallery opened two new shows with Philly based Alex Lukas and SF based Richard Colman respectively. Colman's work occupied the project space while Lukas' work and foliage was presented in the main space. Worth getting to if you haven't already.


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High 5s: Puttin' The Pee in the Pod

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Dimitris Polychroniadis (+Greece)

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Skull & Sword at FFDG Featuring: Grime, Henry Lewis, Yutaro, and Lango

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ARYZ at Fifty24SF

ARYZ (Spain) opened his newest gallery show at Fifty24SF last Friday and, if you live in the Bay Area, you need to go. This dude can obviously paint, and he doesn't need an entire building to show his impecable skill. The show has lots of small works on paper which contrast his highly-defined line work to his hard-edged painted objects. The contrast between the hard and soft was the most striking thing to me about his work, since I had never seen it in person before, and the washes blend with the thick paint seamlessly. The show also contains a larger work on canvas, a huge head suspended in the back of the room, and a big wood sculpture of a wolf figure. This diversity in such a small space was impressive, and those of us that went to the opening even got to meet the man in person. If you didn't make it out this weekend, check it out before May 31st when it closes and these works will be off to some very happy new homes.


David Bayus @Water McBeer

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Hard Time Mini Mall @The Shooting Gallery

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Recent Works by David Lyle

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+London - David Shillinglaw Mural

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In The Streets of Copenhagen (Part 2)

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Just The Two of Us at Adobe Books

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Skewville & Mark Warren Jacques @White Walls (SF)

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+SF
:: ODC Theater presents Indulge - Tue
:: Ants: The Invisible Majority - Wed
:: One-on-One Mentorship Final Group Show .. - Thu
:: Out-Of-Order - Thu
:: Ritlab: Create, Nosh, Shavuot - Thu

+NYC

+LA
:: JACK CURTIS DUBOWSKY ENSEMBLE presents .. - Thu

FULL CALENDARS: BAY AREA | NYC | LA

 

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