Italy's First Landmark 'Graffiti' Exhibition Opens at Museion
Exploring contemporary art through the history of spray paint.
Italy’s first major graffiti exhibition has arrived at the Museion Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bolzano. Curated by Leonie Radine and Ned Vena, Graffiti brings together a constellation of 60 pioneering voices working within and beyond the medium, including Futura 2000, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Rammellzee, Lee Quiñones and Shaun Crawford.
Spanning 1,500 square meters across two floors, the exhibition explores how the raw, expressive energy of street art made its way into the studio. Beginning with pre-graffiti spray paintings of the 1950s, Graffiti traces through notable graffiti names of the 1980s and lands with contemporary artists who incorporate elements of the medium into their practices.
“Graffiti was how I found my way into being an artist, but it is also how I see things; things like art, for example,” explains Vena. “This exhibition includes works that aren’t necessarily about graffiti but evoke its spirit and visual language.”
Highlights include Crawford’s NYPD SMD, a distorted, skull-like panel by KAYA (Kerstin Brätsch and Debo Eliers,) alongside one of Haring’s dynamic, large-scale Untitled works. Graffiti has long been a conversation between the artist and the environment around them — more than a visual language scrawled across landscapes, it’s a way of seeing the world.
The exhibition is now on view through September 14. Check out the full list of featured artists below.
Yuji Agematsu
Chantal Akerman
Nick Atkins
Charles Atlas
Lutz Bacher
Martin Barré
Blade
Monica Bonvicini
Patricia L. Boyd
Dan Christensen
Shaun Crawford
Curtis Cuffie
René Daniëls
Daze
Manuel DeLanda
Melvin Edwards
Matias Faldbakken
Heike-Karin Föll
Futura 2000
Keith Haring
Jenny Holzer
Lady Pink
KAYA
Jutta Koether
Michael Krebber
Brad Kronz
Maggie Lee
Klara Lidén
Ilya Lipkin
Colette Lumiere
Kunle Martins
Jeanette Mundt
Georgie Nettell
Armando Nin
N.O.Madski
Clayton Patterson
Charlotte Posenenske
Josephine Pryde
Quik
Lee Quiñones
Carol Rama
Rammellzee
R.I.P. Germain
Matthew “Zexor” Rodriguez
Karin Sander
Seen
David Smith
Dash Snow
Ben Solomon
Hedda Sterne
Emily Sundblad
SoiL Thornton
Alix Vernet
WANTO
Lawrence Weiner
Dondi White
Martin Wong & LA2
Christopher Wool
Zephyr
