Tag: graffiti

Chris “Daze” Ellis at PPOW Gallery

Chris “Daze” Ellis started painting train cars as a teen in the mid-70s and within a few years was showing his work indoors in shows at The Mudd Club and the renowned gallery Fashion Moda. Decades later, he reflects on contemporaries who’ve passed, including Cliff 3YB, Billy 167, Stan 153 and others in this recent painting in his current solo show at PPOW Gallery.  Above their names on the subway walls and cars, an expressionist composition of greens, pinks and yellow colors glows like a celestial phenomenon honoring the lives and memory of street art pioneers.  (On view through Feb 12th in Tribeca.  Masks and social distancing required).

Chris “Daze” Ellis, A Memorial, acrylic, oil, spray paint, respirator on canvas, 60 x 54 inches, 2020.

Martha Cooper at Steven Kasher Gallery

Chelsea’s skyline – dotted with construction cranes – is a constant reminder of how much the neighborhood and city is transforming; for an even more eye-popping view of how much the city has changed, visit legendary street photographer Martha Cooper’s photos at Steven Kasher Gallery from the 80s. Here, Cooper captures a two-car painting by Duster Lizzie that demonstrates how transgressive ambition changed the landscape of New York. (At Steven Kasher Gallery in Chelsea through June 3rd).

Martha Cooper, Two Whole Cars in Straight Letters and Wild Style by Duster Lizzie, Bronx, NY, 1982, archival pigment print, 30 x 40 inches, printed 2017.

Ry Rocklen at Untitled Gallery

LA based artist Ry Rocklen takes self-branding into actual product marketing with a tongue-in-cheek installation of the clothing in his wardrobe, cast in porcelain or copper plated. A graffiti-covered door is also preserved for the ages with copper, silver and gold leaf infill turning the banal into the beautiful. (At Untitled Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 15th).

Ry Rocklen, installation view at Untitled, foreground: To be Titled (Tagged Door), wood door, hardware, copper leaf, silver leaf and gold leaf, 2014. Shoes: copper plating, 2013-14. Wall: Porcelain casts of clothing, 2008-14.