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Jerry Ross Barrish is an American artist, film maker and bail bondsman. He was born in San Francisco in 1939 to Bennie Barrish, a boxer, and Jeanne Barrish. Jerry Barrish was well known in the 60's as the owner of Barrish Bail Bonds, which had the slogan "Don't parish in jail, call Barrish for bail!" Beyond his bail bond business, Barrish wrote and directed several films from 1972-1989. After his career in the film industry, Barrish began creating sculptures from found materials, mainly plastic, and occasionally works with bronze as well.

Early Life
Jerry Ross Barrish was born to Bennie and Jeanne Barrish in 1939 in San Fransisco. As a child Jerry Barrish was quiet and kept to himself. Barrish remembers growing up poor, with both his father and mother being gamblers. After high school, Jerry joined the army. He was sent to Berlin, Germany, where he played poker and found out that he was quite good at it. When he returned home from the army he had about $10,000, a surprising amount for a soldier. One of Jerry's father's friends suggested Jerry get into the bail bond business. Jerry went on to use his $10,000 to start Barrish Bail Bonds in 1961.

Bail Bond Career
Jerry Barrish started his own bail bond company, Barrish Bail Bonds, in San Francisco in 1961. He opened up shop during a time of upheaval in the U.S. His bail bond business became famous in its own right during the Sproul Hall Berkeley Protests. Jerry arranged bail for 865 people arrested during the protest, making him a local hero. Throughout his career as a bail bondsman Jerry posted bail for a number of high profile individuals including the early Black Panther leaders Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton, along with Marilyn Chambers, a prominent adult film actress. Barrish Bail Bonds closed its door in 2013.

Film Career
Jerry attended the San Francisco Art Institute in 1971, at the age of 32. Jerry created his first film, a movie for the song "Sniper" by Harry Chapin, entitled "I Will Be" in 1972. Two years later Jerry had a role in a film directed by George Kuchar, called "I Married a Heathen". Jerry didn't create his next film until 1982, when he wrote and directed "Dan's Motel," a feature film about a man who romanticizes he is a gangster. Only two years later Jerry wrote and directed his 1984 film "Recent Sorrows". The film followed the lives of two couples, one straight and one gay, that fell apart for the same reasons. The amount of time and money that Jerry poured into his film projects paid off in 1986 when he was awarded a DAAD residency in Berlin. While enjoying nine months of the artist life in Germany, Jerry wrote a few scripts, one of which he reworked upon his return to the United States. He used this script to film and direct "Shuttlecock" in 1989. "Shuttlecock" followed the life of a woman going through therapy and how it affected her love life. The film had its world premier in Berlin, but failed to gain critical acclaim. This marked the end of Barrish's career as a script writer and director. Since his first on screen appearance, in the 1974 production "I Married A Heathen," Barrish has made appearances in several films including: "Wings of Desire" (1987), "Rembrant Laughing" (1989), and "Until the End of the World" (1991). Barrish appeared most recently in the documentary "Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Barrish" (2014), which documents Barrish's personal history, art career, and his success in winning the commission for a bronze statue at the Hunter's Point Shipyard.

Sculpture Career
Jerry Barrish first experimented with sculpture in a friend's studio, working mainly with bronze, during 1968. After this stint in the studio, he focused his artistic endeavors on film. After his final film in 1989, Barrish returned his attention to sculpture. In the same year of his final film's release, Jerry started to collect plastic debris from the beaches in front of his San Francisco home. He used the plastic he found to create sculptures of humans and animals, a "figurative modernist" in the words of Paul Karlstrom (West Coast Director for the Smithsonian Institute). Since that fateful day in 1989, Jerry has made a prolific body of work, and has been a part of numerous collections including:

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 * - Berkeley Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, California
 * - Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
 * - de Saisset Museum, University of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California
 * - di Rosa Preserve: Art & Nature, Napa, California
 * - Fresno Art Museum, Fresno, California
 * - Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, California
 * - The Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, California
 * - Saginaw Museum of Art, Saginaw, Michigan
 * - San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California
 * - South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, South Dakota
 * - Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California
 * - University of Arizona Memorial Student Union, Tucson, Arizona
 * - University of California Davis, Nelson Gallery, Davis, California
 * - University of California Santa Cruz, Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, Santa Cruz, California

Jerry also has a decades long list of group exhibitions dating back to 1989. On top of these, he has an extensive list of solo exhibitions, most notably at the following:

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 * - 2016-17 Transmission Gallery, Oakland, California
 * - 2016      Smith Andersen Editions, "Nuts & Chews," Palo Alto, California
 * - 2015      Mendocino Art Center, Nichols Gallery, Mendocino, California
 * - 2014-15 South Dakota Art Museum, "Cast & Crew," Brookings, South Dakota
 * - 2014      Loveland Museum, "Cast & Crew," Loveland, Colorado
 * - 2009    Museum of Art & History @ McPherson Center, Santa Cruz, California (catalog)
 * - 2009   Fresno Art Museum, Fresno, California (catalog)
 * - 2007   “Ein Amerikaner in Schwerin,”  Schwerin, Germany  (catalog)
 * - 2003   Dominican University of California, San Marco Gallery, San Rafael, CA
 * - 2002   South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, So. Dakota,  “Dames,” (catalog)
 * - 2000   Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, California
 * - 2000   American River College, “Plastic/Plastik,” Sacramento, California
 * - 1997  San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery, Fort Mason
 * - 1991   LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), Los Angeles, California

Beyond the extensive collection and exhibition lists Jerry won the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency's commission for a sculpture at Hunter's Point's shipyards. His piece, "Bayview Horn," stands about 15 feet high and is composed of bronze. His journey, from first application to installation of the piece, can be seen in "Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish".

Other Links

 * http://www.jerrybarrish.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=18848&Akey=MNDGM7X3
 * http://www.sculpture.org/portfolio/sculptorPage.php?sculptor_id=1002332
 * http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0057590/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1