City as Canvas: Graffiti Art from the Martin Wong Collection
On View September 20, 2024 - January 13, 2025
When Martin Wong (1946-1999) began collecting art in the 1970s, graffiti was still considered an illicit and underground movement. While working at Pearl Paint, an art supply store on Canal Street in Manhattan, he befriended New York City graffiti writers, many of whom were just teenagers, and began acquiring their work through purchase or trade. During this time Wong also pursued his own career as a painter. While Wong himself painted in a realist/representational style, he recognized the artistic ability of up-and-coming graffiti writers. City as Canvas includes many of the earliest surviving examples of graffiti art by writers who went on to have important careers in the arts, fashion, and music industries. Several works in this pioneering exhibition refer back to original pieces that were spray-painted on buildings or subways before being destroyed.
EXHIBITION-RELATED PROGRAMS:
City as Canvas Exhibition Opening | Thursday, September 19, 6-7:30PM
Throwback Thursday | Thursday, October 3, 4-8PM
Black Professionals at the Hunter | Monday, October 7, 6-8PM
Vision + Verse: Chattanooga Hip Hop Week | Thursday, October 10, 6-7PM
Sunday Studio | Sunday, October 13, 2-4PM
Hip Hop Fashion Show | Thursday, October 17, 6-7PM
Create & Sip: Screenprinting Graffiti | Thursday, October 24, 6-7PM
City as Canvas: Mural Walking Tour | Saturday, November 2, 10:30AM-Noon
Art After Dark: Teen Edition | Saturday, November 9, 6-8PM
Sunday Studio | Sunday, November 10, 2-4PM
Throwback Thursday | Thursday, November 14, 4-8PM
Art Wise: Lady Pink | Thursday, November 14, 6-7PM
Vision + Verse: City as Canvas and Cultural Impact | Thursday, November 21, 6-7PM
*Please check back monthly for updates and additional events.
City as Canvas: Graffiti Art from the Martin Wong Collection was organized by the Museum of the City of New York.
Image Credit: Lee Quinones, Howard the Duck, 1988, oil paint on canvas, 58 x 88 inches.
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