04.14.15 – 08.14.15
The Queens Museum at Bulova Corporate Center
Art and architecture chronicle and define civilization. Writing documents the human experience in literature, poetry and history. Together art, architecture and writing represent the physical manifestation of our stories. In this series of site-specific works, pioneering graffiti artist Lady Pink weaves together contemporary approaches to art, architecture and writing. Her story harnesses the real and the imaginary to illustrate a landscape defined by her observations, passions and experiences. The color is vibrant and abundant. Familiar environments of concrete and brick contort into intricate text. The words and script coil into abstraction, forming complex compositions and challenging the eye to decipher her signature or ‘tag’.
For this exhibition, Lady Pink presents three distinct ‘writing’ styles that characterize and fuse her work as painter, muralist and graffiti artist. Each wall showcases a distinctive style. Cityscape Pink bustles and beckons viewers to imagine the beauty of urban decay and rebirth. A single block within a vast metropolis is flush with both construction and vegetation. It represents a unique look at a city in motion. Floral Pink evokes femininity, fertility and natural beauty. Each sprout is a visual reproduction of a real flower or plant and welcomes the forthcoming spring and summer. Classic Pink boasts the raw street aesthetic that attracted Lady Pink as a young woman. The sharp geometric lines and abstract lettering represents the classic graffiti script popularized by her fellow graffiti writers (mostly men) in the 1980s, and she pays tribute to them by including their names in the ‘tag’. She also invites viewers to participate by ‘tagging’ their names or sharing a feeling or idea visually at the main entrance.
Armed with the audacity of youth, Lady Pink made her debut as a graffiti artist or ‘writer’ in the early 1980s. Born in Ambato, Ecuador and raised in Queens, she studied architecture at Manhattan’s renowned High School of Art and Design but was prompted by an art teacher to pursue visual art instead. She swiftly made a name for herself in the burgeoning street art scene in NYC and was among the pioneers of a fresh movement primarily dominated by young men. As street art gained momentum in the fine-art sphere she was invited to participate in a number of high visibility exhibitions while still in high school, including GAS: Graffiti Art Success at Fashion Moda in the Bronx, which traveled in a modified form downtown to The New Museum of Contemporary Art. At 21 she had her first solo show at the Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. Naturally charismatic and outspoken, she was the face of street art and became among the most photographed and interviewed artists of her time. She was also cast in a starring role as Rose in Charlie Ahearn’s classic film Wild Style. Lady Pink continues to produce large-scale murals and visual art worldwide.
This exhibition is organized by independent curator and art consultant, Daricia Mia DeMarr.
Blumenfeld Development Group and LaGuardia Corporate Center Associates. Since 1990, the Queens Museum of Art has partnered with the Blumenfeld Development Group to energize the Bulova Corporate Center by presenting arts exhibitions and projects.
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