David McGee: The Griot and the Nightingale
March 14, 2026 - August 23, 2026
4th Floor Gallery
Spanning three decades, David McGee: The Griot and the Nightingale brings together over 100 paintings and drawings that trace the artist’s career from the 1990s to the present—from rarely exhibited early work to selections from his most recent series. As the artist’s first major museum survey, the exhibition features works not previously seen together, illuminating the formal strategies and recurring motifs that define his expansive oeuvre.
McGee’s multifaceted practice examines the tangled narratives of art history, the fluid nature of language, and the politics of race and class. Like the griots of West Africa—storytellers who preserve and transmit communal memory through word and song—McGee approaches image and text as living archives. Drawing on a wide range of visual, literary, musical, and pop cultural references, his emotionally resonant work frequently brings these elements into dialogue to question dominant narratives and explore systems of representation. Invoking the nightingale of poetic tradition—a symbol of lyric expression and renewal—his practice is simultaneously rooted in historical consciousness and creates possibilities for new stories taking flight.
Support for David McGee: The Griot and the Nightingale comes from the generous donors of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art Director's Circle.
SOUNDTRACK TO THE EXHIBITION
David McGee: The Griot and the Nightingale invites audiences to experience the exhibition through three playlists, reflecting the central role that music has played in McGee’s life and work.
These distinct listening experiences brings together a personal playlist by David McGee featuring the music that helped shape his creative vision; a curated companion by Black Notes Project that approaches McGee's paintings through the lens of Black musical traditions and shared aesthetic vocabularies; and Urban Dreads / Oracles, an original score by composer Chris Becker inspired by McGee’s Urban Dreads and Oracles series
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DAVID McGEE
In David McGee: The Griot and the Nightingale, David McGee pairs his paintings with a genre-spanning soundtrack that echoes the exhibition’s emotional and narrative depth. From the spiritual intensity of Nina Simone and John Coltrane to the operatic power of Maria Callas and the contemporary voice of Kendrick Lamar, the music selections explore themes of identity, resilience, and transformation.
Blending jazz, classical music, blues, and hip-hop, the playlist deepens the experience of McGee’s work—underscoring his role as a contemporary griot who shares stories through both images and song.
