West

Recognized as one of the most prolific artists in the New York
Graffiti scene throughout the 80's & 90's, West has been painting
publicly for the past 20 years. Born and raised in New York City, the
grandson of Russian-Jewish immigrants, West began painting on the
number 1 Broadway-local subway line in 1984 - it was there that he
delved fully into the lettering arts, and where he began to recognize
graffiti's social relevance as the crossroads of graphics, culture,
and personal identity. Throughout the mid to late 80's West became
known for his clean, simple style letters, and as one of the last of
a handful of artists who was actively painting just before the demise
of subway graffiti in New York. Throughout the 1990s, West, along
with his 'Fame City' crew has been recognized as a major influence in
the NYC graffiti movement by spearheading concept-driven, thematic
productions which are now the norm in large scale graffiti mural
painting.

Since 2003 West has taken a radical departure away from the uniform
structure of traditional graffiti letters and technique. In his current work
he has pushed into the realms of abstract expressionism and stripped the
artform of all of it's traditional trappings of color, medium, and process.
An investigation into the spontaneous and aggressive aspects of graffiti,
West's current work focuses on the forms and shapes and linework, leaving an
end product with no clear beginning or end.

West first exhibited in 1985 with Librizzi Gallery's 'Graffiti & East
Village Artists' show, and has since exhibited in numerous solo and
group shows shows in New York, and internationally. Currently West is
working on a collection of large scale Black & White paintings titled
"Anti-Graff" which will premier at a solo show at the Magda Danysz gallery
in Paris in the summer of 2008.