All posts tagged: Museum of the City of New York

“Above Ground” : How Martin Wong Preserved the Underground Soul of Graffiti

“Above Ground” : How Martin Wong Preserved the Underground Soul of Graffiti

Museum of the City of New York Presents
Above Ground:
Art from the Martin Wong Graffiti Collection

In the heart of the Museum of the City of New York, Above Ground: Art from the Martin Wong Graffiti Collection unveils a vivid and largely underexplored chapter of the city’s cultural history. This exhibition pays tribute to Martin Wong—an artist, visionary collector, and tireless advocate for graffiti art and artists—whose life and work embody a deep commitment to the creativity and resilience of urban communities. Featuring previously unseen pieces donated to the museum 30 years ago, Wong’s collection captures the explosive energy of the graffiti movement, charting its transformation from wild and gritty expressions on subway cars to celebrated works in museum galleries.

Rammellzee. “Atomic Note” (1986). Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Martin Wong. (photo © courtesy of the MCNY)

Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Wong moved to New York City in 1978 and immersed himself in the electric art scene of the Lower East Side. Known for his richly detailed paintings and layered storytelling chronicling urban metaphors, brick walls, and themes of longing, Wong infused his work with themes of decay, identity, and queerness. His art also mirrored his fascination with the overlooked and undervalued, fueling his passion for graffiti as a powerful cultural movement and moment.

Arriving in New York at a pivotal moment for graffiti, Wong formed close relationships with trailblazing artists like Rammellzee, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, and Fab 5 Freddy. For Wong, graffiti wasn’t just an art form—it was a cultural force capable of redefining how we view public space and artistic expression. While mainstream critics at the time dismissed graffiti as no more than vandalism, Wong saw its significance and heard its voice, steadily collecting sketches, canvases, and photographs to preserve the movement’s energy and innovative inclinations. His welcoming approach provided a bridge for graffiti artists transitioning from the streets to galleries and created a time capsule of a fleeting yet transformative period in New York City’s cultural history.

Anthony (A-ONE) Clark. “Forward” (1986). Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Martin Wong. (photo © courtesy of the MCNY)

Above Ground offers visitors a chance to experience Wong’s vision firsthand, featuring iconic works by artists like Keith Haring, Futura 2000, and Tracy 168, alongside rare photographs by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. The exhibition traces graffiti’s journey, from earliest subway tags to the East Village’s groundbreaking galleries, such as Fun Gallery and Fashion Moda, which first showcased, danced with, legitimized graffiti within a portion of the art world. It also explores how Wong’s foresight in preserving these works cemented graffiti’s role as a vital cultural and artistic movement.

“Above Ground celebrates the 30th anniversary of Martin Wong’s donation to the museum and the 10th anniversary of MCNY’s initial City as Canvas exhibition,” says Sean Corcoran, Senior Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Museum of the City of New York. “This show offers a renewed and expanded look at graffiti’s journey from NYC streets to the most prestigious galleries around the world.”

Leonard (FUTURA 2000) Mc Gurr. “Yellow Circle” (1982). Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Martin Wong. (photo © courtesy of the MCNY)

The exhibition’s relevance extends beyond nostalgia. At a time when art on the street is increasingly commercialized and public spaces are sanitized, Above Ground underscores the cultural importance of preserving graffiti’s original raw, unfiltered approach. The show invites a broader conversation about the movement of street art into institutional spaces—and questions if these transitions honor the art’s rebellious spirit while making it accessible to new audiences. Wong’s eye for collecting ensures these early talents remain vivid and vital, ready to inspire a new generation of creators navigating the evolving relationship between public art, the negotiation of public space, and the transition to gallery and museum walls.

By celebrating Martin Wong’s legacy and his eye, Above Ground preserves a crucial part of New York’s history, and thanks to the museum, it is open to viewers through Summer 2025.

Stephen Critchlow with RAMMELLZEE. “RAMMELLZEE” (1985). Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Martin Wong. (photo © courtesy of the MCNY)
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A Grand Spring 2021 : NYC Beckons You to Public Space and Museums

A Grand Spring 2021 : NYC Beckons You to Public Space and Museums

A year ago NYC went into complete lockdown. Spring went on without us. Holed up in our homes we missed the burst of new life such as the myriad of flowering trees of New York, pear trees, peach trees, cherry trees, magnolia trees, the empress tree, dogwoods…

We missed the daffodils and the tulips on the sidewalks and the wisteria vines climbing on the front of brownstones. The burst of color and fragrances that permeate the city during the Spring is unmistakable. Nature comes alive and with it our desires to go out and celebrate the new beginnings.

Spring is also a cultural season. New exhibitions open and with that, the cultural life of the city begins in earnest. Indoor and outdoor cultural offerings abound with you presented with many choices to select from.

Now there’s an optimistic feeling of a renaissance after a year of sacrifices and suffering, loss and despair.

Most of the city’s museums, gardens, and parks are open to the general public in a limited capacity. Please always check with the institutions’ guidelines and policies before you go. Most if not all of them have requirements that must be observed prior to visiting. So please plan your visit and have fun.

https://whitney.org/
https://www.mcny.org/
https://www.elmuseo.org/
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Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is His Muse

Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is His Muse

Active on the city’s urban art scene since the 70s and 80s as a teen hitting up trains on the Broadway line, this New Yorker transitioned to studio art thirty five years ago and never lost his love for his city. Currently on view at the Museum of the City of New York, this collection rightly typifies an era and is the best way to appreciate the inspirations that have driven him.

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DAZE. Reflections on Time Square #2. 2013. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

There are personal and topical narratives here and storylines to investigate, always rendered with the distinct DNA of the original aerosol train writers, his own style and undampened sense of wonder throughout.

Looking at the collaged approach to painting figurative scenes you may feel like they are frozen in a moment, a near relief of archetypes, character, symbols and typical New York scenes assembled at different perspectives.

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DAZE. Electric Boogaloo. 1982. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

His people are ones you recognize, sometimes with ghosts mingling with the earthbound. Coney Island and the beach, the Staten Island Ferry, Times Square, taxi cabs, police – these are his memories colored brightly and rendered palpable.

“City as Muse” ultimately is a commentary and diary that fuses memory with emotion, attesting to an undimmed romance with NYC.

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DAZE. Revisitn a Dream. 2004. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. Coney Island Pier Study. 1999. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. Parachute Drop. 1997. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. The Duel. 2012. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. Queensborough Plaza. 2010. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. The Odyssey. 2015. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. The 7 Yard. 2011. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAZE. Portrait of Daze by Tom Warren and Tagged by Chris “Daze” Ellis. 1983 Chris “DAZE” Ellis: The City Is My Muse. Museum Of The City Of New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

Chris “DAZE” Ellis” The City Is My Muse is currently on view at the Museum Of The City Of New York. Click HERE for more information.

See Daze February 9th at 6:30 with Alan KET and Nick Walker for “Urban Art Legends

See Daze March 2nd at 6:30 with BSA’s  Steven Harrington & Jaime Rojo for “Street Art Stories”

 

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“The City As Canvas” Opens with the Collection of Martin Wong

“The City As Canvas” Opens with the Collection of Martin Wong

Last night the graffiti and early Street Art history from New York’s 1970s and 80s was celebrated by the City of New York – at least in its museum. Criminals and outlaws then, art stars and legends today, many of the aerosol actors and their documentarians were on display and discussed over white wine under warm, forgiving, indirect lighting.

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DAZE in the background sliced by a wall of cans at the opening of “The City As Canvas” (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

“City as Canvas: New York City Graffiti From the Martin Wong Collection” is an exhibition as well as a book released last fall written by Carlo McCormick and Sean Corcoran, with contributions by Lee Quinones, Sacha Jenkins and Christopher Daze Ellis, and all the aforementioned were in attendance. Also spotted were artists, photographers, curators, writers (both kinds), art dealers, historians, family, friends, peers and loyal fans – naturally most fell into a few of these categories at the same time.

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“The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York welcome text with pieces by Futura 2000 and Zephyr to the right. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

“City as Canvas” is possible thanks to the foresight, eye, and wallet of collector Martin Wong, an openly gay Chinese-American artist transplanted to New York from San Francisco, which is remarkable not only because of the rampant homophobia and near hysterical AIDS phobia at the time he was collecting but because the graffiti / Street Art scene even today throws the term “fag” around pretty easily. A trained ceramacist and painter whose professional work has gained in recognition since his death of AIDS related complications in 1999, Wong is said to have met and befriended a great number of New York graffiti artists like Lady Pink, LEE, DAZE and Futura 2000, who were picking up art supplies where he worked at the Pearl Paint store – a four story holy place on Canal Street that thrived at that time.

 Brooklyn-Street-Art-Sharp-Paints-a-Picture-copyright-Martin_WongThe show contains black books full of tags and drawings as well as canvasses and mixed media Wong purchased, commissioned, and painted, including a portrait of graffiti artist Sharp wearing a respirator and standing before a canvas he’s working on entitled Sharp Paints a Picture (1997-98).

The mood at the museum was celebratory as guests looked at the 140+ works from Wong’s collection; a cross between an art opening and a graffiti trade show, with enthusiastic peers and fans waiting patiently to speak with, pose for pictures with, and gain autographs or tags in their black books from artists in attendance. The only officers that could be seen were holding back the line of guests to make sure there was no overcrowding of the exhibit.

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The famous Martha Cooper photograph of Dondi in action in the train yards. “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

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A Keith Haring and LA2 collaboration at “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

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Artist LA2 with Ramona “The City As Canvas” (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

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Keith Haring (Smiling Face) from 1982 at “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

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Lee Quiñones speaking with a never ending stream of fans before his canvas Howard the Duck, 1988, at “The City As Canvas” (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

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Digital prints of images shot by photographer Henry Chalfant brought the trains alive. On top is an image of a train with Sharp/Delta 2 from 1981 and below is “Stop the Bomb” by LEE (Quiñones), 1979 at “The City As Canvas” exhibition at Museum of the City of New York. (photo via iPhone © Steven P. Harrington)

 

 

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