Graffiti art is moving from the streets of New York into your own home and at the forefront of this movement is online art gallery DirtyPilot. This month Catawiki has the honour of hosting a special New York Graffiti auction with DirtyPilot featuring some big names in the New York graffiti scene. We spoke with gallery owner and Catawiki seller Alan to get a preview of what we can expect to see in the auction and to discuss graffiti art in general. Find out what he had to say below.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss the upcoming auction with us. To get started, please tell us a little bit about your gallery.
We've been gallery owners and private dealers for the last 25 years, but DirtyPilot.com was launched in May 2007, with our first show 'Cruising Altitude'. Since then we've hosted over 140 solo and group shows with NYC graffiti legends as well as a variety of urban and street artists from around the world. Today DirtyPilot.com showcases NYC old skool graffiti writers from the 1970s and 80s.
Over the past 10+ years we've developed a pipeline for these artists into the European and worldwide art markets and with such a large international audience, Catawiki is helping us further this expansion.
How did you come to Catawiki?
We found Catawiki by accident while working on Google, finding some images and links to the site.
What can we expect to see in the upcoming auction?
DirtyPilot will offer paintings, hand-painted maps, signs, and works on paper by old skool NYC graffiti legends such as SEEN, QUIK, BLADE, COPE2, TKID170, FUZZ ONE, CAP, GHOST, SONIC, SKEME, LADY PINK, STAYHIGH149 and many more!
Could you tell us a bit about some of the artists, their work, and why they’re worth collecting?
Many of the works will be from graffiti legend SEEN, co star of the cult movie ‘Style Wars’. SEEN is featured prominently in subway art as well as a plethora of books and videos. SEEN is arguably one of the most important figures in the culture today. He has one of the most prolific and important train pedigrees of his time.
Painting from the late 1970s into the mid 1980s includes one of his most famous trains, “the hand of Doom”. Other artists like QUIK, BLADE and COPE2 spent years traveling Europe and their names are synonymous with NYC graffiti.
All of these artists have strong auction records and in many circles have become commodities/investment grade art.
Do you have a favourite work that will be in the upcoming auction?
We love all the works we offer as we try and curate only best works from important writers. Personally I am a fan of paintings on canvas such as SEENs ‘Service Train’ QUIK’s ‘Felix’ and the TAKI's ‘Collages’. These artists whose craft started on trains, walls and in the street took the leap to create paintings on canvas in the tradition of the masters. Just paint, a blank canvas and the artist, as it’s been done for hundreds of years.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
It’s important for collectors and fans of graffiti, street, and urban art worldwide to recognise that it all started in NYC in the early 1970s. If not for these pioneers, out there risking life and limb for an art form they created and loved, the street and urban art movements, and possibly some contemporary art movements, may not exist as they do today. These are the architects of this art movement and in my mind, graffiti is the only pure new art movement to come along since the pop artists of the 1960s. Its an exciting time for graffiti. A worldwide phenomenon!
Ready to invest in a piece of New York graffiti art? This unique New York Graffiti auction is the perfect place to start or expand your collection. But don't delay, the auction will close on the 10th of November (2017)! Also check out our International Street & Urban Art auction for more stunning works. Did you know that you can also start selling with Catawiki for free? Simply register as a seller and you can start offering up your own art or pieces from your collection for auction straight away.