Rammellzee is a multi-talented individual as a visual artist, graffiti writer, performance artist, hip hop musician, and art theoretician from New York City. His graffiti and art work are based upon his theory of Gothic Futurism, which describes the battle between letters and their symbolic warfare against any standardizations enforced by the rules of alphabet. This unique concept theory has expanded widely during Rammellzee’s lifetime. The name of Rammellzee is derived from the theory of the Gothic Futurism, and his birth name is unwilling to be revealed by his friends. He started to make graffiti writing in the 1970’s on the New York City’s subway cars and stations, specifically on the A-Train, and made an intimate relationship with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. And, the record cover art of “Beat Bop” by Rammellzee vs K-Rob released in 1983 was created by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The hip hop movie, titled “Wild Style Dedication” is Rammellzee’s representative work which depicts the definition of Gothic Futurism itself.
WORKS
BIOGRAPHY
born on December 15, 1960 in Far Rockaway, Queens to an African-American mother and Italian father who worked as a transit detective. died on June 28, 2010
PAST EXHIBITIONS
Selected Exhibitions 1987 The Equation, Lidia Carrieri Gallery, Rome 1989 Hip Hop ‘til You Drop, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY 1992 Coming From The Subway, Groninger Museum, Groningen 1994 Rammellzee vs. Gen U One (Gen Atem) – Exercises in Self Presentation, Eigen + Art, New York 2006 Music is a Better Noise, MoMA PS1, Queens, New York 2009 Looking at Music: Side 2, Museum of Modern Art, New York 2010 Printin’, with Ellen Gallagher, Museum of Modern Art, NY 2012 Art in the Streets, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, California 2018 Rammellzee – Racing for Thunder, Red Bull Arts, New York
ARTIST WEBSITE
AVAILABLE WORKS
ALL Andy Warhol Jean-Michel Basquiat Rob Pruitt Robert Longo Rammellzee Pablo Picasso Edvard Munch Andi Fischer Bel Fullana Helmut Newton Robert Mapplethorpe Richard Avedon Alison Jackson Guido Argentini Antonio Redaelli Nobuyoshi Araki Noritoshi Hirakawa Katsuhiko Brian Sato Makoto Saito