Fab-ulous new show Fab 5 Freddy @ Gallery 151, New York #ArtInTheStreets

Tonight, legendary hip hop veteran Fab 5 Freddy invites art fans and critics alike to Gallery 151. Entitled "NEW YORK: NEW WORK," his first solo show for probably several decades is aptly anchored in New York's NoHo district.

For the background to this new show, here's the inside scoop. When I interviewed Fab for UNLeashed Magazine to celebrate MoCA's Art in the Streets we talked about his inspiration to start painting again, "It's organic how it's developing for me...I wasn't really making art for a while. I was conceptualizing different ideas at different times, but not necessarily executing. A few years ago a few events transpired that made me think, 'Wow, I'm ready to start doing this again!'"

One of these cryptic events was the discovery of Fab's work in, what became known as, the 151 Wooster Mural at a loft condo development in Manhattan in 2008. There was a major buzz about this discovery and I went to check this mural wall out in February 2008 as the developer, Michael Namer, was completing the project. The actual mural had been preserved by museum professionals and all I saw was the life-sized reproduction on a wall where a kitchen once stood.

Fab 5 Freddy's tag in the 151 Wooster Mural

Me visiting the 151 Wooster Mural in New York, 2008

Recycle and rebirth Gallery 151 was formed as a pop-up exhibition space from this mural project and has been relocated to NoHo where Fab 5 Freddy will show his latest work, ironically inspired by events that happened in the late 80s which were unearthed in the 21st-Century!

151 Wooster Mural @ Gallery 151 in 2008

Check out this revealing documentary about the discovery of the mural, including a short sound bite from Diego Cortez.



"Gallery 151 is honored to present the solo exhibit of Fred Brathwaite, hip-hop pioneer and legendary graffiti artist known as Fab 5 Freddy. In the early 80's, Mr. Brathwaite was notorious for his 1980 homage to Andy Warhol, an entire subway car covered in Campbell’s soup cans. He was a creative force helping to lead the cultural revolution in which graffiti based artists transitioned into galleries and the art world. On June 8th, Gallery 151 presents NEW YORK:NEW WORK, the New York debut of Brathwaite’s series of stunningly vivid mixed-media works on canvas - some figurative iconography and others an abstract exploration of his graffiti experience. Brathwaite’s is currently a featured artist in MOCA’s “Art in The Streets”, the first major museum exhibition in America on the history of graffiti and street art." Gallery 151

Opens June 8th 6:30-9:30PM Opening Reception. Runs until July 1st, 2011.