John Matos "Crash"

American, born 1961

BiographyBronx, New York native John Matos or "Crash" is considered a true pioneer of the Graffiti art movement. Crash began his career painting murals on IRT subway cars, basketball courts, and on the on the walls of buildings in dilapidated neighborhoods. During the 1980s, Graffiti art began to infiltrate the "legitimate" realm of the New York art world. Graffiti writers, like Crash, were encouraged to exhibit in various New York galleries and museums. This increased interest in street art by leading cultural establishments resulted in a number of the most talented graffiti writers to enter the traditional environment of the fine arts market.

By the end of the 1980s, Crash had been featured in dozens of one-man shows and group shows at galleries and museums around the world. The strong coloring, popular culture aesthetic, and comic-book quality of his work has been favorably compared to pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Jasper Johns, and Andy Warhol. In reference to his artistic influences, Crash states, "From colorful faux wall paper, to Marvel Comics, this was my youth. New York in the 60's had a life all its own. And being a child of the 60's, colors made such an impression on me that I rely on these memories to bring me to my work today."

Crash's work has been collected by museums such as the Groninger Museum, Groningen, Holland; the Ludwig Museum, Kassel, Germany; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York; The New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

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