the street is our gallery

May 19, 2016 to May 22, 2016

KOLLY Gallery presents  a selection of cutting-edge international artists coming from a graffiti background. For its first edition in New York City, the gallery is pleased to exhibit the new paintings and sculptures of Crash, SupaKitch, Grotesk and Flying Förtress.

CRASH (a.k.a. John Matos) was born in 1961 in the Bronx where he currently lives and works. Regarded as a pioneer of the Graffiti art movement, CRASH has created a very graphic and pop identifiable style that has been a major source of influence for several generations of graffiti artists. He has been part of numerous museum permanent collections such as the Brooklyn Museum and Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). He exhibits his work in galleries all around the world since 1980. Several commissioned walls painted by CRASH can be seen in the streets of New York City.

SupaKitch is a French painter and tattoo artist, born in 1978, in Paris. After having practiced graffiti under the moniker Ride in the 90’s, he started transitioning from graffiti into studio work with his first exhibition in the early 00’s under the name SupaKitch. Mixing various techniques such as spray, acrylic paint, collage and silkscreen, he creates a unique universe composed of vegetation and anthropomorphic creatures with Asian and musical influences. Since 2009, he started to extend his visual universe to human bodies by mastering the art of tattoo. He works with the prestigious Parisian tattoo salon Bleu Noir.

Grotesk, born Kimou Meyer in 1974 in Geneva, is a Swiss artist, designer and art director living and working in Brooklyn. After graduating from Le Cambre in Brussels, Kimou Meyer moved to New York City to start a career in graphic design. He worked for several years as an art director for companies like Ecko Unltd or Zoo York. In 2010, he started his own creative agency, Doubleday and Cartwright, specializing in sport and culture. Outside of his regular job, he has been pursuing his art project as Grotesk, developing a personal and easily recognizable style of illustration and wooden sculptures.

Flying Förtress is a German artist, designer and illustrator living and working in Hamburg. After having practiced classical graffiti letters for more than a decade, he started in the early 00’s to develop an illustrative and iconic form of graffiti. His widely recognizable Teddy Troops figural icons are present in public urban spaces of many cities around the world.  They have been developed into art toys and have today a major place in Flying Förtress’s work on canvases.

LOCATION

KOLLY GALLERY AG
c/o 212 Arts
240 E 4th Street
New York, NY 10009

Opening reception: May 19, 2016 / 6:00 – 9:30 PM
Public show: May 20 – May 22, 2016 / 2:00 – 8:00 PM