Immerse yourself in the world of graffiti art & culture at D’Stassi Art‘s headline exhibition in London, The Great Collaborator. Opening in Shoreditch on May 10th, 2024, this exhibition promises a unique experience with major graffiti and street art figures uniting for a special showcase of Angel ‘LA II’ Ortiz‘s collaborative spirit. This highly anticipated show is not to be missed.
Ortiz collaborates with notable artists like STIK, Shepard Fairey, Mr Doodle, Mark Kostabi, and Richard Hambleton, each contributing their distinct styles to this dynamic endeavor. This exhibition in London will offer an immersive look into Ortiz’s significant influence on the art world, charting his rise from 1980s New York, where he collaborated with Keith Haring, to his impact on contemporary art & culture.
Highlights include Ortiz’s collaborations with Richard Hambleton, known as ‘the Shadowman,’ before Hambleton’s 2017 death. We also see Ortiz teaming up with celebrated street artist STIK, known for his enigmatic stick figures and relentless charity projects that leverage art as a power for social change. Alongside Shepard Fairey—famous for his ‘Andre the Giant Has a Posse’ and ‘Hope’ poster—and Mr. Doodle, known for his expansive doodling. And Mark Kostabi combining efforts, merging Kostabi’s cartoonish style with Ortiz’s expressive patterns. Kostabi’s work, recognised internationally, adds depth to this collaborative showcase.
Featured artists in this exhibition in London
Angel LA II Ortiz:
New York City graffiti artist LA II (a.k.a. Angel Ortiz) is best known for his collaborations with Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Richard Hambleton, Stik, ERO and many others. Ortiz’s career took off after Haring spotted his “Little Angel” tag upon moving to New York and asked to meet the then-teenage artist. Throughout the ’80s, the two combined their signatures to create murals, sculptures, train paintings, and other objects, and Ortiz’s style and technique are thought to have influenced Haring’s solo practice from then onward. Along with several joint exhibitions together, Angel’s art is also featured in the following museums & institutions: The Whitney (NYC), MOCA Museum of Fine Arts (Massachusetts), Museum of Graffiti (Florida), Bel Air Museum (California), Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (France), Pepperdine University (California) and more.
Shepard Fairey
Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, and founder of the OBEY Clothing company. He is best known for his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” sticker campaign and his 2008 “Hope” poster of Barack Obama. Fairey’s work often incorporates political themes and social commentary. His works are included in the collections of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
STIK
STIK is a minimalist, figurative painter and sculptor who focuses exclusively on the human body in line form. STIK’s has created some of the largest public artworks in London, New York and Tokyo and his 12 ft (4m) bronze sculpture ‘Holding Hands’ is installed permanently in London’s Hoxton Square. As an activist STIK works with the N.H.S., British Nuclear Test Veterans and many grass-roots activist groups. He has collaborated with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, PRIDE In London and London’s Southbank Centre. STIK co-founded ‘Dulwich Outdoor Gallery’ and founded and funds ‘My Mural’ and ‘Hackney Sculpture Project’ which commission young and emerging artists to create public artworks
Mr. Doodle
Mr. Doodle is a British contemporary artist known for his distinctive doodle-based style. He is best known for creating large scale murals and for doodling an entire house, which he now lives in. Mr. Doodle began his career in the early 2010s, creating street art in the streets of London. His work quickly gained attention for its intricate detail and playful imagery and in 2017, he had his first solo exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Since then, Mr. Doodle has exhibited his work in galleries and museums around the world. He has also collaborated with brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo.
Mark Kostabi
Mark Kostabi is an American contemporary artist known for his colorful, cartoonish paintings and sculptures. Kostabi began his career in the early 1980s, as part of the East Village art scene in New York City. He was a founding member of the Collaborative Projects, Inc. (Colab) artist collective, which was known for its large-scale, collaborative artworks. Over the next decade, Kostabi’s work gained international attention. He had solo exhibitions in major museums around the world, and his work was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Kostabi’s works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Princeton University Art Museum, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, among others. He currently divides his time between New York, NY and Rome, Italy.
Richard Hambleton
Richard Hambleton was a contemporary American-Canadian graffiti artist, Often referred to as the “godfather of street art.” Along with his contemporaries Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hambleton painted directly on the streets of New York and achieved success during the art boom of the 1980s. Born in June of 1954 in Vancouver, Canada, he was best known for his Image Mass Murder series, wherein he painted chalk outlines around volunteer “victims” splashed red paint, thereby leaving fictional and violent crime scenes behind in over 15 cities. As time passed, Hambleton gradually transitioned to work in the studio, producing a body of work he titled the Beautiful Paintings. “I’ve been doing public art for a long time, and studio work, and there’s a relationship between the two of them,” he remarked of the shift in his practice. A reclusive artist, Hambleton lived and worked in New York City’s Lower East Side until his death on October 29, 2017.
The Great Collaborator is a celebration of Ortiz’s legacy, blending graffiti and street art in an unforgettable collaborative journey. This makes it a must-see exhibition in London this May for anyone interested in the evolution of street art & culture.
©2024 Angel ‘LA II’ Ortiz, D’Stassi Art
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