Alicia McCarthy

[8] McCarthy's work, as part of the larger Mission School movement, is a direct response to the Dot-com bubble's effect on San Francisco's urban development.

The artists bonded over punk music, skateboarding, graffiti, queer politics and zine publishing, and they shared an appreciation for funky cartooning, offbeat social satire, quirky abstraction, folk art and old-fashioned graphic styles.

[12] McCarthy creates abstract paintings that fuse the aesthetics of American punk with those of outsider artists (a style sometimes referred to as "urban rustic").

Found objects, text, and spray paint often make their way into these wood surfaces, so that McCarthy's colorful woven patterns and geometric blocks become personalized beyond their shapes.

She was also one of fifteen Bay Artists commissioned in 2015 by Meta (formerly Facebook Inc.) to create a site specific spray paint mural for their new Frank Gehry-designed Menlo Park headquarters.

[15] McCarthy's recent work shows a selective color palette on mixed-media panels to create art that is both intense and playful.

Energy that Is All Around was a formative exhibition of Mission School artists, curated by Natasha Boas at the San Francisco Art Institute.