KOOL KOOR
Charles Hargrove, American
Born in 1963
Under the name Kool Koor, Charles Hargrove is a child of the South Bronx, born among the towers of the Mitchel Houses in a New York pulsating with hidden energies. Now living in Brussels, he shared his path with figures like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, companions in the birth of an art scene that would shake the world. Alongside Rammellzee, A-One, Dondi White, and Futura, he became one of the most distinctive voices of that first urban wave spreading through the streets of New York.
In 1978, he was admitted to New York’s High School of Art and Design, a sanctuary for the city’s young creative minds. He graduated in 1982, but his reputation had already started to grow well before then. At just sixteen, he exhibited for the first time at Fashion Moda, the avant-garde gallery that was the first to reach out to Bronx artists. This move from walls to canvas was just the beginning for him. The East Village soon welcomed him, followed by Soho, and eventually Europe, where he would settle down without ever losing his connection to his roots.
His style? Unique, instantly recognizable. There is something in Kool Koor’s lines that escapes the ordinary eye, an architecture that seems to build imaginary worlds while playing with the boundaries of reality.
«My first artist name was The Arbitrator Koor. I called myself The Arbitrator Koor because I felt like an arbitrator in my artwork – the mediator between a reality we know and an alternate reality. Kool came later, when I started recording music. As a young adult, I was drawn to playing chess – I like the tower or the rook. I wanted to use ‘Rook’ as my artist name but eventually let it go. I took the K and the R and flipped them. That’s how I got my artist name. It reflects my way of thinking and embodies my creativity: the play of lines, architecture, and imaginary worlds. If you look at life or things from the other side, you can often understand them better. And that’s how Koor was born. And with it, a new way of seeing the world, turning it around to uncover hidden truths that only reveal themselves to those daring enough to dive beyond appearances. » Kool Koor
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EDUCATION
1982
University Diploma – New York High School of Art and Design, New York, USA.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
– “Rooks & Robots”, Retrospective Kool Koor, Ghost Galerie Marseille, 4 Juillet – 4 Aout.
2017
– KOOL KOOR: Sometime in the Future, Stradedarts curated by Alessandro Mantovani. Milan, Italy, June 6th – July 8th.
2016
– Past Present Past, Galerie Francis Noël. Liège, Belgium, until June 25th.
2015
– Tribal Movements, Galerie Martine Ehmer. Brussels, Belgium, October 1st – 4th.
– Kool Koor: Black Gold, NK Gallery Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, December 5 th – January 22th.
2014
– Treasure Lost and Found, l’Hotêl Marignan. Paris, France, opening December 2nd.
2013
– KOOL KOOR: Transform… Evolve, Covart Gallery, under the High Patronage of the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg. Luxembourg, May 4th – 31st.
– KOOL KOOR: Papers, Begramoff Contemporary Art. Brussels, Belgium, March 4th – April 13th.
2011
– Kool Koor: The Arbitrator, Covart Gallery. Luxembourg, Luxembourg, April 30th – June 25th.
2009
– Schilderijen en Objecten (Paintings and Objects), Galerie DZD Art. Roermond, Netherlands, January 10th – February 8th.
2008
– Koor – Back to the Roots, Gallery 151. New York, USA.
2006
– Seven Sources, Tempus Arte. Landen, Belgium.
2005
– Koor, Galerie Willy Schoots. Eindhoven, Netherlands.
– Microkoorsm, Fine Arts Studio. Brussels, Belgium.
2004
– Koor: Recent Works, Fine Art Studio. Brussels, Belgium.
– Reality Revisited, Sabine Watchers Gallery. Knokke, Belgium.
2003
– Koor, Galerie Willy Schoots. Eindhoven, Netherlands.
– Elevations, Private Domain. Deurne, Netherlands.
2002
– Draftworks, Private Domain. Deurne, Netherlands.
1998
– Monoliths vs Pyroliths, Tour et Taxis. Brussels, Belgium.
1995
– KOOR, Gallerie Dis. Maastricht, Netherlands.
1991
– KOOR, Gallerie der Stadt Esslingen am Neckar, Esslingen, Germany.
– KOOR, Gallery M. Bayreuth, Germany.
– KOOR, Maurice Keitelman Gallery. Brussels, Belgium.
1990
– KOOR, Art Boom. Deurne, Holland 1988
– KOOR, Gallery 69, New York, USA.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
– New York Street Style : création des années 80 – Ghost Galerie, Paris, juillet – septembre 2022.
– Accrochage saisonnier, Ghost Galerie, Paris, France, Janvier-Juin 2022
2021
– Writing the futura: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop generation, Museum of fine arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
– Nos Fantômes – exposition inaugurale, Ghost galerie, Paris, France. 10 Septembre – 20 Novembre, 2021.
– Rooks & Robots, Château de Forbin, Marseille, France. 4 Juillet – 4 Octobre, 2021.
2019
– La Rétrospective, Manufacture 111 Bruxelles. Brussels, Belgium, August 12th – September 15th.
2017
– Beyond the Wall, Art Bunker Gallery. Tourcoing, France, June 1st – 30th.
2015
– Emulsions Urbaines, Galerie Martine Ehmer. Brussels, Belgium, April 11th – May 17th.
– Black Gold, NK Gallery. Antwerp, Belgium, December 5th, 2014 – January 22nd, 2015.
– Dalí Fait le Mur, Espace Dalí Paris. Paris, France, September 11th, 2014 – March 15th, 2015
2011
– Art in the Streets, MOCA. Los Angeles, USA, April 17th – August 8th. (catalogue) 2010
– Né dans la Rue – Graffiti, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain. Paris, France, July 7th, 2007 – January 10th, 2010. (catalogue)
2007
– East African Art Biennial. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
2005
– EYE CANDY, Museum Tongerlohuys (2 man show). Roosendaal, Netherlands 2004
– New York Graffiti: A Retrospective, Galerie Maurice Keitelman, Brussels, Belgium.
2003
– The Writing on the Wall
1996
– 21st ed. International Art and Antiquities Fair. Knokke Scharpoord, Belgium.
1982
University Diploma – New York High School of Art and Design, New York, USA.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021
– “Rooks & Robots”, Retrospective Kool Koor, Ghost Galerie Marseille, 4 Juillet – 4 Aout.
2017
– KOOL KOOR: Sometime in the Future, Stradedarts curated by Alessandro Mantovani. Milan, Italy, June 6th – July 8th.
2016
– Past Present Past, Galerie Francis Noël. Liège, Belgium, until June 25th.
2015
– Tribal Movements, Galerie Martine Ehmer. Brussels, Belgium, October 1st – 4th.
– Kool Koor: Black Gold, NK Gallery Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, December 5 th – January 22th.
2014
– Treasure Lost and Found, l’Hotêl Marignan. Paris, France, opening December 2nd.
2013
– KOOL KOOR: Transform… Evolve, Covart Gallery, under the High Patronage of the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg. Luxembourg, May 4th – 31st.
– KOOL KOOR: Papers, Begramoff Contemporary Art. Brussels, Belgium, March 4th – April 13th.
2011
– Kool Koor: The Arbitrator, Covart Gallery. Luxembourg, Luxembourg, April 30th – June 25th.
2009
– Schilderijen en Objecten (Paintings and Objects), Galerie DZD Art. Roermond, Netherlands, January 10th – February 8th.
2008
– Koor – Back to the Roots, Gallery 151. New York, USA.
2006
– Seven Sources, Tempus Arte. Landen, Belgium.
2005
– Koor, Galerie Willy Schoots. Eindhoven, Netherlands.
– Microkoorsm, Fine Arts Studio. Brussels, Belgium.
2004
– Koor: Recent Works, Fine Art Studio. Brussels, Belgium.
– Reality Revisited, Sabine Watchers Gallery. Knokke, Belgium.
2003
– Koor, Galerie Willy Schoots. Eindhoven, Netherlands.
– Elevations, Private Domain. Deurne, Netherlands.
2002
– Draftworks, Private Domain. Deurne, Netherlands.
1998
– Monoliths vs Pyroliths, Tour et Taxis. Brussels, Belgium.
1995
– KOOR, Gallerie Dis. Maastricht, Netherlands.
1991
– KOOR, Gallerie der Stadt Esslingen am Neckar, Esslingen, Germany.
– KOOR, Gallery M. Bayreuth, Germany.
– KOOR, Maurice Keitelman Gallery. Brussels, Belgium.
1990
– KOOR, Art Boom. Deurne, Holland 1988
– KOOR, Gallery 69, New York, USA.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
– New York Street Style : création des années 80 – Ghost Galerie, Paris, juillet – septembre 2022.
– Accrochage saisonnier, Ghost Galerie, Paris, France, Janvier-Juin 2022
2021
– Writing the futura: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop generation, Museum of fine arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
– Nos Fantômes – exposition inaugurale, Ghost galerie, Paris, France. 10 Septembre – 20 Novembre, 2021.
– Rooks & Robots, Château de Forbin, Marseille, France. 4 Juillet – 4 Octobre, 2021.
2019
– La Rétrospective, Manufacture 111 Bruxelles. Brussels, Belgium, August 12th – September 15th.
2017
– Beyond the Wall, Art Bunker Gallery. Tourcoing, France, June 1st – 30th.
2015
– Emulsions Urbaines, Galerie Martine Ehmer. Brussels, Belgium, April 11th – May 17th.
– Black Gold, NK Gallery. Antwerp, Belgium, December 5th, 2014 – January 22nd, 2015.
– Dalí Fait le Mur, Espace Dalí Paris. Paris, France, September 11th, 2014 – March 15th, 2015
2011
– Art in the Streets, MOCA. Los Angeles, USA, April 17th – August 8th. (catalogue) 2010
– Né dans la Rue – Graffiti, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain. Paris, France, July 7th, 2007 – January 10th, 2010. (catalogue)
2007
– East African Art Biennial. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
2005
– EYE CANDY, Museum Tongerlohuys (2 man show). Roosendaal, Netherlands 2004
– New York Graffiti: A Retrospective, Galerie Maurice Keitelman, Brussels, Belgium.
2003
– The Writing on the Wall
1996
– 21st ed. International Art and Antiquities Fair. Knokke Scharpoord, Belgium.
EPOCHAL VISIONS: AN EXHAUSTIVE CHRONICLE OF WORKS BELONGING OR HAVING BELONGED TO THE GALLERY’S COLLECTIONS
