FUTURA 2000, Founding Father Of Graffiti, Holds First Solo Exhibition in 12 Years

by: Kate Messinger

Before Bansky was selling walls of his street art and before Shepard Fairey was using his graffiti to campaign for Obama, FUTURA 2000 (Lenny McGurr) was bombing the streets of New York City in a way no one had ever seen. FUTURA began his street art career tagging the sides of subway trains in the late 70′s, when New York City was gritty and hip hop was still limited to street corners, bringing an abstract style to graffiti that went on to be an icon of 80′s street art.

FUTURA brought his work to canvas, showing with artists like Keith Herring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and designing the classic cover of The Clash’s This is Radio Clash album. Now, for the first time in 12 years, FUTURA will show his recent work at Valmorbida Gallery in Manhattan, an exhibition that is influenced by and named after 1970′s futurist Alvin Toffler’s book “Future-Shock.” The show will open September 6th and run until October 5th.