ARTIST
John ‘Crash’ Matos
USA
Born in 1961, John ‘Crash’ Matos was raised in the Bronx, New York. At the age of 13, he started to follow the older teens from his neighborhood to the train yards and began spraying. He got his alias ‘Crash’ after he accidentally crashed a computer in his school. In 1975 he painted his first train.
Since that his alias ‘Crash’ began appearing on trains circulating all throughout New York City. In 1978 as one of the first graffiti writers he began painting on canvas. Soon his artworks were exhibited next to Keith Haring’s and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s pieces in galleries. At the age of 19 Crash curated his first and ground-breaking exhibition Graffiti Art Success for America at Fashion Moda (NY). In addition Crash has designed a mural for the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. With over 300 worldwide exhibition Crash counts to the pioneers of Graffiti Art rooted in the 1980ies in New York City. Nowadays his works are represented in renowned art museums: Museum of Modern Art in New York, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Brooklyn Museum of Art in Brooklyn.
