New York City, once the world’s foremost graffiti mecca, will soon play host to a massive exhibition celebrating the history of street art, curated by graffiti historian and urban anthropologist Roger Gastman. The show, “BEYOND THE STREETS,” is Gastman’s follow up to his hit 2011 exhibition “Art in the Streets” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.
The show is set to open in an office building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on June 21. It will showcase street art’s storied history, including, for example, Martha Cooper’s classic photos of graffiti on the streets and subway cars of 1980s-era New York.
It will go on to explore the work of more than 150 artists, from Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring to Takashi Murakami and José Parlá, showing the art form’s evolution from a symptom of urban blight and decay to a lucrative facet of the blue-chip art market. Other boldfaced names include Lady Pink, Lee Quiñones, Maripol, Maya Hayuk, Gordon Matta-Clark, Rammellzee, Nina Chanel Abney, Swoon, INVADER, Jenny Holzer, the Guerrilla Girls, and Kenny Scharf.
The exhibition will also pay tribute to the 30-year career of Shepard Fairey, who will debut a mini retrospective titled “Facing The Giant: Three Decades of Dissent.” In addition, there will be a special focus on the intersection of street art and music, with a section featuring artifacts and ephemera from Brooklyn rap trio the Beastie Boys. Gastman will also highlight the long history of activism among street artists.
Martha Cooper photograph of Lil’ Crazy Legs in Riverside Park in 1983. Photo courtesy of the artist.
At LA MOCA, the “Art in the Streets” retrospective set an all-time attendance record of 220,000 visitors. Gastman first staged “BEYOND THE STREETS” in a 40,000-square-foot Los Angeles warehouse last spring. The New York edition stands to be even bigger, taking over two floors—over 100,000 square feet in total—of what’s being billed as a “creative” office building.
On the East Coast, the show will include “a curated gift shop” offering more than 150 items, according to the press release, which is a somewhat ironic addition considering that Gastman was the co-producer on Banksy’s film Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Photo courtesy of “BEYOND THE STREETS.”
“I’m really excited to bring this show to the art form’s epicenter: New York,” Gastman told amNewYork. “The city plays such a pivotal role in the origin and evolution of the culture—the iconic images of covered subway cars made graffiti famous worldwide.”
Here are all the artists appearing in the show so far:
A-ONE
AIKO
Al Diaz
Alexis Ross
Alicia McCarthy
André Saraiva
Barry McGee
BAST
Beastie Boys
Bert Krak
Bill Barminski
Bill Daniel
BLADE
Broken Fingaz
Buddy Esquire
buZ blurr
Carlos Mare
Carl Weston
Cey Adams
C.R. Stecyk III
Charlie Ahearn
CHAZ
Claudia Gold
Cleon Peterson
COCO 144
Conor Harrington
Corita Kent
Craig Costello
CRASH
DABSMYLA
Dan Witz
Dash Snow
DAZE
DEFER
Dennis Hopper
Dondi White
Doze Green
EARSNOT
Estevan Oriol
Fab 5 Freddy
FAILE
Faith XLVII
Felipe Pantone
FREEDOM
FUTURA 2000
Gajin Fujita
Glen E. Friedman
Gordon Matta-Clark
Guerrilla Girls
HAZE
Henry Chalfant
Herb Migdoll
Husk Mit Navn
INVADER
Jane Dickson
Jason REVOK
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jenny Holzer
Jim Prigoff
John Ahearn
John Fekner
John Tsombikos
Joe Conzo
José Parlá
KATSU
KC Ortiz
Keith Haring
Kenny Scharf
Kilroy Was Here
LADY PINK
LAZAR
LEE Quiñones
Lisa Kahane
MADSAKI
Maripol
Mark Gonzales
Mark Mothersbaugh
Martha Cooper
Maya Hayuk
Michael Lawrence
MIKE 171
MISS 17
Mister CARTOON
Nina Chanel Abney
NOC 167
Pat Riot
Patrick Martinez
Paul Insect
POSE
PRAY
Rammellzee
Randall Harrington
RETNA
Richard Colman
Richard Hambleton
RIME
RISK
Ron English
SABER
Sam Friedman
SANESMITH
Sayre Gomez
Shepard Fairey
SJK 171
SLICK
SNAKE 1
SNIPE1
STAY HIGH 149
Stephen Powers
SWOON
Takashi Murakami
TAKI 183
TATS CRU
TENGAone
Tim Conlon
Timothy Curtis
Todd James
Trash Records
UGA
VHILS
ZESER
“BEYOND THE STREETS” will be on view at Twenty Five Kent, 25 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, beginning June 21, 2019.