BACKGROUND

Charlie McGrady (b. 1952, Gillespie, Illinois) grew up in the American Midwest during the countercultural groundswell

amidst countercultural revolution and the deranged pursuit of utopia. His varied sculptures often take the form of wacky caricatures of the American people and the institutions they hold dear. At times the institutions and the people represented in McGrady’s figures are indistinguishable from one another/blur: Is he parodying finance or financier, entertainment or audience, religion or zealot?

Aside from four years in New York City, McGrady has lived and worked in his hometown.

For twenty years, McGrady was the world’s leading purveyor of dinosaur sculptures. Commissioned by museums to replace their dinosaurs replicas after The Dinosaur Heresies disproved the notion that they were cold-blooded animals, Charlie’s dinosaurs numbered more than a thousand. They reside on almost every continent

McGrady’s interest in realism is an effort to

McGrady studied Literature at Southern Illinois University, enrolled in a Masters . When he relocated to New York City in 1983, his intention was to work as a CPA

and the reckoning of the American people with their dependence on

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M.A. Business, Eastern Illinois University

B.A. Literature, Southern Illinois University

Trade Shows & Conferences

Wonderfest, Louisville, KY, 1998

Charlie McGrady is a paleo artist renowned for the realism and anatomical accuracy of the many dinosaur sculptures he’s made for museums, universities, and the media. Since 1988, McGrady has produced more than 1,000 life-sized, hyper-realistic dinosaurs for institutions like the Discovery Channel, Chicago’s Field Museum, and Tokyo’s National Museum of Nature and Science. 

McGrady founded his production company CM Studio in Gillespie, Illinois, at the height of the dinosaur renaissance. His collaboration with the scientific community and dedication to anatomically precise representation of dinosaurs have distinguished him among paleo artists. Originally a skilled wildlife sculptor, McGrady has partnered with anatomy and physiology experts like Scott Hartman of UW Madison and various paleontologists to bring the new science to life for millions of museum visitors worldwide. McGrady’s special attention to musculature, creation of movement, and use of texture and color define his reputation in the industry. 

In addition to his paleo work, Charlie McGrady is an accomplished conceptual artist and sculptor concerned with American complacency in a late-stage capitalist society and the imminent extinction of attention and art through A.I. and social media. McGrady holds a Bachelor's degree in Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a C.P.A. and M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. McGrady resides in his hometown of Gillespie, Illinois, with his long-term partner. He is at work on a large-scale iconography series entitled Portrait of America.

Charlie McGrady is a paleo artist known for the realism and anatomical accuracy of his dinosaur sculptures for museums, universities, and the media. Since 1988, McGrady has created over 1,000 life-sized dinosaurs for institutions like the Discovery Channel, Chicago’s Field Museum, and Tokyo’s National Museum of Nature and Science.

He founded CM Studio in Gillespie, Illinois, during the dinosaur renaissance and is distinguished for his collaborations with scientists to ensure precise representations. Originally a wildlife sculptor, McGrady works with experts like Scott Hartman and various paleontologists, focusing on musculature, movement, and texture.

Besides paleo art, McGrady is a conceptual artist addressing American complacency and the impact of A.I. and social media on art. He holds a Bachelor’s in Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. He lives in Gillespie, Illinois, and is at work on a series of large-scale altars entitled Portrait of America.

Pippa Garner grew up amid the postwar explosion of commercial culture in the United States. Her drawings and sculptures frequently take the form of bizarro parodies of cultural obsessions with products that promise to improve your life, health, and happiness. Since Garner moved to California in 1961 to study transportation design at the Art Center School (now ArtCenter College of Design), automobiles have been a defining interest of her life and career. For fifteen years she contributed monthly illustrations to Car and Driver and L.A. Magazine. Garner’s drawing practice is a vast archive of thousands of wacky consumer inventions.

For much of her career, Garner has worked outside art institutions, often using her own body as a medium for challenging gender expression. Recently she has both created and modeled a series of cheeky T-shirts with slogans like “I’d rather butter myself than better myself” and “Just to play it safe, I have an autopsy every five years.” Reveling in misbehavior, Garner prods the boundaries of traditionally acceptable language and conduct.