Lady Pink's solo show in New York

This December I wanted to get myself to New York, but sadly $1,000 was too high a price to pay. This wasn't a shopping trip...this was a hip hop excursion.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Double Goose from Paris had set up its annual shop in New York in December. And then I heard that Lady Pink opened her solo gallery show at Woodward Gallery, LES, New York. That combination was enough to make me pack my bags!

Lady Pink is best known as Zoro's (played by Lee Quinones) girlfriend, Rose, in the hip hop classic film, Wild Style. In that role, she led her graffiti crew, The Union. After nearly three decades, Lady Pink, aka Sandra Fabara, is still painting and this exhibition is the output of several years' work, mostly this century. Since switching from aerosol to acrylic on canvas her work has taken on a more intricate detail, but she continues to paint fantasy-like scenescapes. 

Lady Pink mural, 1997 (credit Lady Pink/Art Crimes)

"Pink Foilage", Lady Pink, 2011 (credit: Woodward Gallery)

"Lady Pink is the first woman in graffiti based art.  In her current solo exhibition "Evolution," Lady Pink re-masters work she once created as public murals. Lady Pink muses on old lettering outlines which have evolved from three decades of writing. To the cultured eye, Lady Pink’s street tag can be identified from the period in which it was deliberately constructed. The colorful POP- surreal canvases today, have her trademark name interwoven throughout the elaborate image, as if to authenticate her mark in art history. Lady Pink’s unique personal vision has been communicated throughout her evolution from subway writer to fine artist." Woodward Gallery

Here's a video of Lady Pink at the legendary 5 Pointz, Long Island City, New York.

"New York City is a bit up tight when we use spraypaint instead of paint brush..." Lady Pink