Until October 25th, the Foro Boario in Oristano (Italy) hosts a well-curated exhibition dedicated to New York’s graffiti pioneers. During my annual workation in Sardinia, I couldn’t miss the chance to see this show curated by Fabiola Naldi and organized by Dromos Festival, bringing together historic works from the collection of Pietro Molinas Balata, among the earliest examples of aerosol art, or graffiti writing on canvas, ever produced.
The exhibition’s subtitle, “New York Graffiti“, deliberately recalls Arte di Frontiera (1984, Bologna), the landmark show curated by Francesca Alinovi, one of the first academics to recognize the cultural and artistic value of urban art. That exhibition brought the energy of New York graffiti to Europe at a time when it was still dismissed by many as vandalism, giving artists such as Phase 2, Daze, and Rammellzee a platform within the institutional art world.
Francesca Alinovi’s pioneering vision helped frame graffiti not just as a social phenomenon, but as a legitimate artistic movement, an approach that resonates strongly with the curatorial work of Fabiola Naldi, also from Bologna.
One could say that Arte di Frontiera directly influenced Naldi’s path: last year, to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1984 exhibition, Fabiola Naldi curated FRONTIERA 40. Italian Style Writing 1984–2024 at Bologna’s MAMbo, a show dedicated to the development of Italian writing. In contrast, the exhibition now on view in Oristano goes back to the very roots of the movement, deep into the New York yards where graffiti culture was born.
I am using this exhibition as an opportunity to introduce you to the world of graffiti pioneers, by highlighting the artworks that struck me most and revisiting the stories of the artists who wrote the history of graffiti and, in doing so, the history of contemporary art itself. Rather than offering a full catalogue, my aim here is to share a personal selection of pieces and narratives that I found particularly compelling.
My Personal Selection of Graffiti Pioneers at “Hope Around. New York Graffiti” Show in Oristano
Walking into the exhibition, one is immediately struck by the weight of history. On the walls hang canvases by the artists who transformed New York’s streets and subways into the birthplace of modern graffiti. This is not simply a show about style, it is about the individuals who defined a movement, often armed with nothing more than a spray can, a marker, and a desire to be seen.
The Origins: Cornbread and Taki 183
Any story of graffiti must begin with Cornbread, the Philadelphia writer who, in the late 1960s, proved that putting your name everywhere could turn anonymity into fame. His simple yet bold tags “Cornbread” appeared everywhere, from walls to buses, and even on an elephant at the Philadelphia Zoo. These interventions transformed a personal nickname into a citywide phenomenon and set the template for graffiti as a culture rooted in visibility, repetition, and identity.
Cornbread’s legacy is foundational: by making his name known through the streets, he inspired an entire generation of young people in Philadelphia, New York, and beyond to pick up a marker or spray can. In New York, Taki 183 picked up the mantle. His tag combined his nickname, “Taki,” with the number of his street (183rd Street in Washington Heights) a formula that quickly became standard in graffiti culture.
By writing his name on subway trains and city walls, Taki 183 achieved a level of visibility that caught the attention of both peers and the mainstream press. A 1971 article in The New York Times about his prolific tagging brought graffiti into the public eye for the first time, sparking a wave of young people eager to follow in his footsteps.
Innovators of Style: Phase 2, Coco 144, and Seen
From those early tags, a new generation pushed graffiti into more elaborate forms. Phase 2 is credited with transforming graffiti lettering into an art form through his invention of the “bubble letter” style in the early 1970s. This rounded, playful approach to writing quickly became one of the most influential and widely imitated styles in graffiti worldwide.
Coco 144, meanwhile, helped define the codes of the culture, pioneering the very idea of being a “king” through sheer visibility and consistency. He also played an important role in the transition from simple tags to more stylized forms, experimenting with outlines and larger-scale pieces that pushed the culture forward.
And then there was Seen, the “Godfather of Graffiti,” whose whole-car masterpieces on the 6 train line in the Bronx became some of the most iconic moving artworks in New York’s history. Beginning in the early 1970s, Seen rose to fame painting full-color, whole-car pieces on the subway system. His large-scale works, mixing bold lettering with cartoon characters, set a new standard for ambition and visibility in graffiti. By the 1980s, Seen transitioned into galleries while continuing to paint in the streets, bridging the gap between underground culture and the contemporary art world.
Storytellers and Visionaries: Lee Quiñones and Blade.
If graffiti began with names, it soon grew into narratives. Lee Quiñones painted murals across subway cars that carried political and social messages, transforming trains into rolling canvases of protest and poetry. In the 1980s, Lee transitioned into galleries, becoming one of the first graffiti writers to exhibit internationally. Notably, he had already shown work at Rome’s La Medusa gallery in 1979—an exhibition that went down in history as the first display of aerosol art outside the United States.
Often referred to as the “King of Graffiti,” Blade is credited with more than 5,000 trains, blending lettering with playful characters, constantly innovating his style. His pieces stood out for their bold lettering styles, playful characters, and inventive use of color, making him one of the most innovative writers of his generation.
Beyond the Subway: Zephyr, Fab 5 Freddy, and Kool Koor
As the 1980s arrived, graffiti intersected with other cultural currents. Zephyr, with his fluid style, became a bridge between graffiti and skateboarding culture, while also moving into galleries.
Beyond his work on the subways, Zephyr was also active in skateboarding culture and contributed to the fusion of graffiti with other urban subcultures. Respected as both an artist and a historian, Zephyr has written and spoken extensively about graffiti’s origins, ensuring that the history of the movement is preserved.
Fab 5 Freddy embodied hip-hop’s multidisciplinary energy: a writer, an artist, and a filmmaker, he helped carry graffiti and hip-hop into the mainstream. Active since the late 1970s, he was part of the legendary Fab 5 crew, painting subway trains with large-scale, colorful pieces that helped define the era. Beyond his graffiti, Fab 5 Freddy became a bridge between subcultures. He collaborated with artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, appeared in films like Wild Style (1983), and introduced hip-hop culture to mainstream audiences through television.
Kool Koor, influenced by science fiction and architecture, introduced futuristic abstraction, often collaborating with fellow visionary Rammellzee, whose concept of “Gothic Futurism” turned letters into weapons in an ideological battle for language and freedom.
In the early 1980s, Kool Koor moved from the subways to the downtown art scene, exhibiting alongside pioneers like Rammellzee, Dondi, and Futura 2000. His work stood out for its cosmic, architectural forms and abstract constructions, blending graffiti with science fiction and Afrofuturist influences.
Expanding the Vocabulary: Futura 2000, Rammellzee, and How & Nosm
Few artists broke the mold as radically as Futura 2000, who abandoned letters altogether in favor of abstract forms, cosmic compositions, and painterly gestures. His collaborations with punk band The Clash brought graffiti into the world of music and performance.
In the 1980s, Futura 2000 became a central figure in the downtown art scene, exhibiting alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. Today, Futura 2000 is recognized worldwide as one of the most innovative voices to emerge from the graffiti movement. By breaking away from lettering and bringing a painterly sensibility to walls and canvases, he opened the door for graffiti to be seen as a legitimate form of contemporary art.
At the same time, Rammellzee (1960–2010) developed a theory-heavy, multidisciplinary practice, merging graffiti, performance, and sculpture into a singular vision that still resonates today. Emerging in the late 1970s, he was associated with the first wave of train writers, but soon distinguished himself with a highly original style that blended futuristic abstraction, linguistic experimentation, and performance.
Central to his work was the theory of “Gothic Futurism,” in which letters were transformed into weaponized forms, liberated from the constraints of the alphabet and turned into armoured characters battling social control. This conceptual approach elevated graffiti from style-writing into a radical philosophy of language, art, and resistance.
Rammellzee also gained recognition as a musician and performer, collaborating with artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, and appearing in the landmark film Wild Style (1983).
Decades later, twins How & Nosm would pick up this thread, refining large-scale murals into intricate, symbolic narratives, proving that the language born on trains could evolve into globally celebrated contemporary art. Originally from Germany but based in New York since the late 1990s, they gradually developed a unique collaborative style characterized by intricate linework, limited color palettes (often red, black, and white) and densely packed compositions.
Their large-scale murals are instantly recognizable for their complexity: surreal narratives filled with interlocking figures, symbols, and mechanical forms that speak of human conflict, desire, and interconnectedness. By working together seamlessly, they create monumental pieces that feel both chaotic and meticulously controlled.
Chroniclers and Custodians: Ket and the Legacy of Graffiti
Amid these stylistic innovations, figures like Alan Ket took on the role of historian and advocate. As both a writer and a chronicler, he documented graffiti culture through books, magazines, and exhibitions, ensuring that the stories of these pioneers would not be erased. He is currently the curator of Miami’s Museum of Graffiti, the first museum in the world entirely dedicated to graffiti. His work reminds us that graffiti’s history is as much about preservation as it is about creation.
Through his dual role as both practitioner and chronicler, Ket has played a vital part in shaping how graffiti is remembered and understood, helping to preserve the history of a movement often erased by authorities. His legacy in street art and graffiti history is not just in his pieces, but in the preservation of the culture itself for future generations.
Graffiti Writing: A Movement That Changed the World
This exhibition demonstrates that graffiti was never a marginal pastime; it was a revolution of names, styles, and ideas. The New York graffiti pioneers did more than paint trains; they redefined art, authorship, and public space.
Hope Around: New York Graffiti traces this history, highlighting the pioneers who first carried graffiti’s disruptive energy into galleries. From the very beginning, aerosol art was already crashing into exhibition spaces, loud and unapologetic, painting outside the lines, breaking rules, and finding its own way in.
Standing before their historic works on canvas today, you can still feel the urgency of the streets: the need to be seen, to speak, to claim a voice. It’s a legacy that continues to echo on walls worldwide and still inspires new generations of graffiti writers and street artists.
