John CRASH Matos is a living legend of street art. He began spraying graffiti at the age of 13 – “bombing” as it is called in the jargon. In doing so, he emulated the older kids in his neighborhood. After he “crashed” a computer at school, he kept the nickname CRASH, which he derived from it, and soon it was written all over New York. His graffiti, which could be found on subways and run-down buildings, quickly caught the attention of influential figures and his notoriety grew. It wasn’t long before he began to put his work on canvas using screen printing techniques, and he became increasingly ambitious in his work practice.
John CRASH Matos is an omnipresent figure in graffiti art and curated the now iconic exhibition “Graffiti Art Success for America” at Gallery 98. The show laid the foundation of this artistic movement that is still successful today. It was the first time CRASH moved from street art to the gallery world.