Hidden, nestled in the bustling chaos of the Garment District, arises a new contemporary artist unlike any of her predecessors. Hope McGee is a 23-year-old tattoo artist, painter, sculptor, multi-instrumentalist, and more. Rock ‘n' Roll is not dead as you open the door to Breathe Free Tattoo and are transported into an entirely different dimension. Walls covered in graffiti displaying mixed media paintings and prints accompanied by museum-style price tags. At first, the sticker value of these pieces is even more shocking than the art: framed prints for $5,000 and paintings from $25,000 to $100,000 with the artist unwilling to compromise. But then something magical happens, the viewer finds themselves getting closer, veering deeper into the painting, noticing the variety of layers, textures, and materials. For the first time unlocking a new universe hidden in plain sight. The further you are willing to veer into Hope McGee’s art the more you are able to see. Each work is nauseatingly complex with a dizzying amount of geometry chemistry and color theory hidden in the mess.

When asked about her music she laughed and said simply “I have a band, called the Asstrix, but it’s terrible. It’s supposed to be terrible. You’re not allowed to play instruments you already know how to play”. This was not surprising after marveling at her paintings. Messy, no clear subject, but still overwhelming and deep. I made the mistake of asking about her digital art which threw me for a loop. She explained she creates digital sculptures using procreate on her iPad to represent music. She believes the purest form of abstract expressionism is to convert an abstract concept into art. Bears the question what does music look like. Hope McGee considers color symbolism, tone, style, perspective, and target audience when creating her Digital Art. Converting audio into an abstract concept and converting that concept back into visual art is remarkable. I am excited to see what comes next from her.

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March 24th, 2023