Description
Steven David Ogburn (USA, 1957 – )
Blade
Proud owner of the title King of Graf, Blade is one of the pioneers of the American Graffiti and a true legend in New York, with over 5,000 pieces realized in the subway between 1972 and 1984 (with only one night in prison, not for painting graffiti, but for stealing cans!). Blade begins to paint aged 15, together with the crew “The Crazy 5”, mainly on lines 2 and 5 trains. This is the time of the explosion of tag bombing, when there are no masterpieces yet, nor examples or other artists to imitate. Blade draws his sketches on school desks and then he transfers them on wagons, in broad daylight, fearless of danger and authorities. We owe him the invention of various styles that become a point of reference for the next generations, like the first 3D Letters and the Blockbuster Letter. Like some other artists of his generation, at a certain point of his career Blade abandons the metal wagons for canvas and introduces his art to galleries, especially in Europe. His first solo exhibition takes place in 1981 and his works become part of museum collections from the end of the 1990s.
