Curated by adidas Originals, Beyond the Streets is a traveling street art exhibit displaying artwork from over 150 iconic artists under one roof and it has finally made its way to Brooklyn, New York!
Starting with the humble beginnings of Hip Hop, this exhibit explores street art and its many eras and even separates the genres by location and style. Each category has helped keep the art of street art alive in its own way, while also growing the visibility of this underground genre – elevating it to new heights. Continue below to read more about our favorite artwork from the exhibit and the artists behind them.
John Ahearn
Hip Hop Wall
RAMMELLZEE
>> See RAMMELLZEE: Racing for Thunder exhibit here
A-One
Anthony Clark, also known as A-One, was a legendary New York City graffiti artist who began painting in the streets at the age of 6 years-old. His work reflected his deep Black American and Rastafari roots.
Sane Smith
Punk graffiti artists, Sane & Smith were brothers and pioneers in the late-1980s era as the new subway system was becoming graffiti-free and writers were being pushed out. In October of 1990, Sane was found dead in Flushing Bay, so in remembrance of his brother, Smith sometimes signs his name as Sane Smith to this day.
Lady Pink
Beastie Boys Memorabilia
The Beastie Boys section was pretty random and it isn’t clear on what their contribution to street art and graffiti actually was. Despite the disconnect, seeing their memorabilia (including the Def Jam jacket) brought on the nostalgia.
Kenny Scharf
Kenny Scharf is a Los Angeles-born artist, who moved to New York City in the 1970s to pursue a career as an artist. He attended the School of Visual Arts and became roommates with Keith Haring. Scharf is well known for his psychedelic, spray-painted characters, like in his Tikitotemoniki installation above. These highly energetic and colorful blobs are usually clustered together like a melted, rainbow lava lamp oozing to the surface.
Mr. Cartoon
Mark Machado, better known as Mr. Cartoon, is a Mexican-American tattoo and graffiti artist based in Los Angeles, California. When Mr. Cartoon isn’t sketching his designs on human flesh, he’s painting large-scale murals centered around his culture in the Greater Los Angeles area.
Broken Fingaz
Gajin Fujita
Faile
Patrick Martinez
Bast & Paul Insect Puppets
Brooklyn-based artist Bast and London native Paul Insect came together and made The Fly Tip Theatre puppets from recyclable material and any other items they could get their hands on. Combining pop culture references with graffiti culture, these characters emerged onto the scene, caught the attention of Banksy and even appeared in his 2015 Dismaland installation.
