Jerry Ross Barrish
Jerry Ross Barrish (born July 23, 1939) is an American visual artist, known for his filmmaking and found object assemblage sculpture.[1][2][3] He lives in Pacifica, California, and maintains his art studio in San Francisco.[4]
Early life
[edit]Jerry Ross Barrish was born on July 23, 1939 in San Francisco, California.[citation needed] He grew up in a Jewish family.[5] He apprenticed as a sculptor with C.B. (Charles Betram) Johnson (1914–1996) in the late 1960s in Bernal Heights, San Francisco.[4][6] Barrish served in the United States Army, and had G.I. Bill benefits.[4]
Barrish received a BFA degree (1974) and a MFA degree (1976) in filmmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute,[7] where he studied with James Broughton and George Kuchar.[citation needed]
In 1961, he worked worked as a bail bondsman and created a successful bail bonds business. He posted bail for protesters jailed during many now-iconic social movements including 1964's Auto Row Protests, Berkeley's Free Speech Movement of 1964–1965, the San Francisco State University Strike (Third World Liberation Front Strikes) of 1968–1969, amongst others.[8][9] His bail bonds company closed in 2013.[5]
Career
[edit]Film
[edit]His first feature-length film, Dan's Motel (1981) was selected for New Directors, New Films at NYC Lincoln Center and screened at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.[10][11] His second independent feature was Recent Sorrows (1984) which gained him access to the prestigious DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) program in 1986. Upon his return to the United States, he shot his final film Shuttlecock (1989).[citation needed]
In Berlin, Barrish was cast in the role of an American director in Wim Wenders' Palme d'Or winning Wings of Desire (1987).[citation needed] Barrish also acted in Until the End of the World (1991), also directed by Wenders, Rembrandt Laughing (1991), written and directed by Jon Jost, and I Married a Heathen (1974) directed by George Kuchar.[citation needed] He is the star of a documentary, Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Barrish (2014) directed by William Farley which details his practice and life story.[12]
In 2025, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive acquired Barrish's 3 features, and the "Plastic Man" documentary, into their archives.[13][5]
Found object assemblage
[edit]In 1988, Barrish shifted his focus back to sculpture, creating assemblages using plastic found materials. He has amassed a large body of work in found object assemblage spanning from 1988 to present.[4] Select notable works have been reborn into bronze sculptures.
In 2018, Barrish moved his studio to Bartlett Street in the Mission District, San Francisco.[14]
His work is in museum collections, including at the Oakland Museum of California, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Crocker Art Museum, and the San José Museum of Art.[15][16][17]
Public art
[edit]Bayview Horn is located at The Shipyard SF at Hunters Point. It was commissioned by San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (successor to San Francisco Redevelopment Agency).[18]
References
[edit]- ^ Held Jr., John (March 10, 2016). "Jerry Barrish: Fabricating Human Interaction". SFAQ & NYAQ Publications. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ "Everyday Inspiration: The Art and Life of Jerry Ross Barrish at the Sanchez Art Center". Coastside Buzz. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
- ^ "Local artist Jerry Barrish – inspired, inspiring, famous". The Mercury News. September 10, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
- ^ a b c d Corbin, Mary (June 15, 2023). "Plastic Man speaks: A moment with sculpture artist Jerry Barrish". 48 hills. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ a b c Mirsky, Maya (November 18, 2025). "Sculptor and former bail bondsman gets his due at BAMPFA". J. Weekly. Archived from the original on November 23, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
- ^ "OBITUARY -- C.B. Johnson". SFGate. August 13, 1996. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
- ^ "Daily Inspiration: Meet Jerry Barrish". VoyageMIA. June 27, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Addiego, Walter (August 20, 2015). "Unique life as bail bondsman to the left — and artist". SFGate. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ "An Exclusive Interview with Sculptor Jerry Ross Barrish". Miami Living. May 23, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ "Dan's Motel plus Distant Traveler". BAMPFA. December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ Vazquez, Tiffany (March 26, 2013). "Something Old, Something New: A History of New Directors Lineups". Film at Lincoln Center.
- ^ "Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish". Jewish Film Institute. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "Jerry Ross Barrish: A Life in Film and Art". BAMPFA. October 13, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ Hannawi, Lara (December 7, 2018). "Jerry Ross Barrish's eco-art to take over Santora Sales warehouse". Mission Local. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
- ^ "Crookneck, Object number: A95.62.4, Object name: sculpture". Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "Baluster, 1991, Jerry Ross Barrish, b. 1939". San José Museum of Art.
- ^ "Barrish, Jerry Ross - Scarlet". South Dakota Art Museum. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "Jerry Barrish - The Bayview Horn". SF Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (SFOCII). Retrieved November 13, 2024.
External links
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