John “Crash” Matos was born in 1961 in the Bronx, where many writers lived and where hip-hop culture is generally accepted to have its roots. He was one of the first New York graffiti artists to bring the young art movement from the streets and trains into the galleries. Crash, then nineteen, curated the important Graffiti Art Success for America exhibition at the alternative art space Fashion Moda. Such shows played an important role in legitimizing graffiti as an art movement.

In his work Untitled (2017), Crash transfers fragments of lettering and other graffiti elements to the canvas in clear, bright colors. This creates the impression of a greatly enlarged section of a giant graffiti work while blurring the boundaries between style writing, street art, pop art, and abstract painting.

On loan courtesy of the Gewobag collection.