John Matos
Encyclopedia
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist. As early as 13, John Matos was spray painting New York City trains
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
, the full image art as opposed to simpler tagging soon transferred to silk screened canvas
Screen-printing
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...
. He was first noticed through his murals on subway cars and dilapidated buildings, he is now regarded as a pioneer of the Graffiti art movement. His work is said to convey a "visual link between street life and established society". In 1980, Crash curated the now iconic exhibition:"Graffiti Art Success for America" at Fashion MODA, launching the graffiti movement that has remained very active through today. By the 1980s Matos had exhibits across the United States and abroad. Galerie Yaki Kornblit was the first instrumental gallery in Amsterdam that help launch his career in Europe. In 1981 Crash, along with 10 other artists were chosen by The Public Art Fund to design animated imagery for The Spectacolor Billboard in Times Square. He was given his first gallery showing by Sidney Janis
Sidney Janis
Sidney Janis was a wealthy clothing manufacturer and art collector who opened an art gallery in New York in 1948. His gallery quickly gained prominence, for he not only exhibited the work of most of the emerging leaders of Abstract Expressionism, but also that of such important European artists as...
at the Sidney Janis Gallery in 1983. Chase Manhattan, N.A., as well as CITIBANK, N.A., and other collections came calling. In 1984, Crash along with Keith Haring painted mural installations for the 5/5 Figuration Libre France/USA at the Musee d'art Moderne de la Villa de Paris. In 1988 he sprayed Notes in the Wind measuring 178 x 178 centimetres to be exhibited and eventually to be owned by the Peter Stuyvesant Foundation in Zevenaar
Zevenaar
Zevenaar is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, near the border with Germany.- Population centres :*Angerlo*Babberich*Giesbeek*Lathum*Ooy*Oud Zevenaar*Zevenaar...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In 1995, Crash was commissioned by British American Tabacco to create a commission for Lucky Strike brand cigarette, joining fellow artist Keith Haring, to create a special work for this company and their collection.
In 1996, Crash painted an Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster
Eric Clapton Stratocaster
The Eric Clapton Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of English guitarist Eric Clapton, and was the first signature model guitar ever released by Fender.-Background:...
and gave it to the artist as a gift. Clapton went on to use the specially designed guitar through his 2001 tour and later appeared with another. In total Crash has created 5 guitars for Clapton, though only three of them have made public appearances. One of Clapton's "Crashocasters" (nicknamed by Eric's former guitar tech, Lee Dickson) auctioned for $321,100 (USD) by the name of "Crash-3" and was used extensively during the first Crossroads Guitar Festival
Crossroads Guitar Festival
The Crossroads Guitar Festival is a music festival and benefit concert first held in 2004 and again in 2007 and 2010. The festivals benefit the Crossroads Centre founded by Eric Clapton, a drug treatment center located in Antigua. The concerts are also intended to be a showcase for a variety of...
in 2004. Soon after Fender Musical Instruments commissioned the creation of 50 such graffiti designed guitars from Crash and named the line "Crashocasters." Crash went on to also design a line of custom painted telecasters with match Fender amps. Other artists such as John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
have used the custom painted Crashocaster guitars.
In July 2006, the pieces titled "Aeroplane 1" (1983) and "A-U-T-O-matic",(1985), along with other paintings from their permanent collection were displayed in the Brooklyn Museum of Art
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
in a featured exhibit titled "Graffiti."
In 2009, Crash held his first exhibition of painted guitars and guitar related artowrk in NYC.
In 2010, Crash held a 30 year retrospective at Fairfield University's Walsh Gallery.
Crash was asked by Sanrio to create a series of paintings to be shown at Art Basel, Miami Beach, FL, featuring Hello Kitty and other characters from Sanrio's catalogue.
Also, in 2010, Crash was commissioned to create a special limited edition luggage for TUMI, Inc. A painting was created and used for the design, which was released world wide in 2011. Same day releases were coordinated in Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, Germany, Paris and London.
Crash is one of the New York artist featured at MOCA, The David Geffen Building, Los Angeles' "Art in the Streets", April-August 2011.
In 2011, Crash held his first print survey exhibition in Southport, Ct., at Southport Galleries.
Public collections
Boca Raton Museum of ArtBoca Raton Museum of Art
The Boca Raton Museum of Art is located at 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, Florida in Mizner Park. It houses works of art by a number of the great masters.-About:...
Museum of Modern Art, NYC
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ
Museum of the City of New York, NYC
Flint Institute, Flint, MI
Groniger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
Museum Boymans-van Beuninger, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Aachen, Nue Galerie-Sammlung Ludwig, Germany
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ft. Wayne Museum, Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Cedar Rapids Museum, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Vero Beach Museum, Vero Beach, FL
Vieques Museum, Vieques, Puerto Rico
Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, FL