BLADE

(Steven D. Ogburn - American)

Born in 1957

Steven D. Ogburn born in 1957 New York, takes the name “Blade” as a teenager, referencing a knife or a sword. He is collectively understood in the history of Graffiti as The King of Kings of Graffiti. As the initiator of various styles, his presence was unmistakable on the New York subway cars in the 1970’s. It is essential to follow Blade’s work on trains in order to understand American graffiti: today, we estimate that he has covered 5000 of them with his writing. He created the TC5 crew (Crazy Five), active on the 2 and 5 subway lines that connected Brooklyn to the Bronx. Emerging from a generation in which Wild Style was raging, the artist never fell in line. He uses letters, colors, geometric shapes, abstraction and even characters that he develops with a rather unique freedom. The train car fresco titled The Walking Letters has namely made its mark in Graffiti history as one of the longest to have run across the city. From 1984 onwards, Blade focused on working with canvas. As a result he notably participated in the monumental exhibition Art in the Streets at the MOCA in Los Angeles in 2011.

EDUCATION

- Self-taught graffiti artist

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016

- Blade: NYC King, Hausammann Gallery, Cortina, Miami, USA, (opening) September 8th.

2015

- New York in Gargano: Blade, the King of Graffiti, curated by Marta Gargiulo and Massimo Scrocca, Marina del gargano di Manfredonia (tourist harbour), Siponto, Italy, June 13th - July 12th.

2009

- BLADE: King of Graffiti. Photographs, Cards, Drawings, Publications, curated by Roger Gastman, Pijnenburg Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (catalogue)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2021

- Nos Fantômes - exposition inaugurale, Ghost galerie, Paris, France, 10 Septembre - 20 Novembre, 2021.

2019

- We Were Here : East Coast x West Coast, Chase Contemporary. New York, USA, June 27th - July 21st .

2018

- Art from the streets, Art Science Museum, Singapore, January 13th - June 3th.

- Graffiti, Vroom & Varossieau, curated by Heli Harni, Satu Oksanen and Sanna Tuulikangas. Helsinki, Finland, April 6th- September 9th .

- ICONS II, Vroom & Varossieau, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April 7th - May 8th.

- City as Canvas: Graffiti Art From the Martin Wong Collection, Indianapolis Museum of Art,

Indianapolis, USA, October 5th, 2017 - January 28th, 2018.

2017

- Francl Gallery, Cannes, France.

- NYC Legends: BLADE & TRACY 168, Hausammann Gallery, Cortina, Miami, USA, (opening) August 13th.

- 212 Gallery, Wynwood, Miami, USA (Art Basel).

- ALL BIG LETTERS, curated by RJ Rushmore, Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford, USA, January 20th - March 3rd.

- Digard Auction House, Paris

2016

- Urban Dawn II, by art platform curator19.90, Beirut, Lebanon, October 15th - November 13th.

- City as Canvas: Graffiti Art From the Martin Wong Collection, Museum of the History of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, March 18th - June 26th. (touring exhibition).

- City as Canvas: Graffiti Art From the Martin Wong Collection, Amsterdam Museum. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 18th, 2015 - January 24, 2016. (touring exhibition).

2015

- Foggia & Manfredonia, Italy

- Fuck the King, Long Live the Kings, Blade, Inkie and Shoe, Vroom & Varossieau, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

- Fuck the King, Long Live the Kings, Blande, Inkie and Shoe, Gothenburg, Sweden.

2014

- City as Canvas: Graffiti Art From the Martin Wong Collection, Museum of the City of New York, USA, February 4th - September 21st (touring exhibition) (catalogue).

- Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, USA.

- Galleria Varsi, Rome, Italy.

2013

- Viborg Billboard Festival, Galleri NB, Denmark, June 1st - June 8th.

- Articks Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

2012

- Adjust Gallery, Art Basel, Miami, USA, December 6th - 9th.

- Speerstra Foundation (Collection Speerstra), Apples, Switzerland.

- Graffiti - New York 80's, Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris, France, May 27th - July 20th.

2011

- Group Show: Hall of Fame, Speerstra Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland, November 8th - December 12th.

- Melange of Street Art Artists, Galerie Helenbeck, Nice, France, July 9th - September 10th.

- Art in the Streets, MOCA, Los Angeles, USA, April 17th - August 8th. (catalogue)

- Articks gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

- Gallery Vlasblom, Bergen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

- Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.

2010

- Gismondi Galerie, Paris, France.

2008

- Galerie Gismondi and Helenbeck Galerie, Paris, France.

- Helenbeck Galerie, Paris, France.

2005

- Brooklyn Library, Brooklyn, USA.

- Old School Legends, The Outside Institute, London, UK.

2004

- Down Under Tour, Auckland, New Zealand and Brisbane; Melbourne, Australia.

- Blade, Cope II, Pistol, Aurora Gallery, New York, USA.

- Marco Art Galerie, New York, USA.

2003

- Blade with Seen, Revolt, Chino and Pistol, Marco Art Galerie, New York, USA.

2002

- Marco Art Galerie, New York, USA.

2000

- Whitney Museum, New York, USA.

- Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, USA.

1999

- Bronx Museum, New York, USA.

1998

- The Arrow, by the collective Stocktown,in conjecture with Fanclub festival, Stockholm, Sweden, July 24th - 26th.

- Museum der Stadt Ratingen, Ratingen, Germany.

- Blade ONE / Case 2: Return to Burn, Martinez Gallery, New York, USA, May 16th - June 27th.

1997

- Symposium, Museum of the City of New York, USA.

- Wiesbaden Festival, Wiesbaden, Germany.

1996

- The Stedelijk Museum Roermond, Roermond, The Netherlands.

- Drawings Show, South Of France.

- Galerie City, Paris, France.

1995

- Boymans Museum, Germany.

- Museum Dortmund, Germany.

- Galerie Heidelberg, Germany.

- Düsseldorf Festival, Germany.

1994

- Gallery Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

- Castle Helmond, The Netherlands.

1993

- Museum Show, Rotterdam Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

- City Gallery, Brussels, Belgium.

1992

- New York Graffiti Art : Coming from the Subway (Collection Speerstra), Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands, October 4th, 1992 - January 10th, 1993. (catalogue)

- Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, The Netherlands.

- City Gallery, Milan, Italy.

- Groninger Museum Show, Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands.

- The Mannheimer Kunstverein, Mannheim, Germany.

1991

- Graffiti Art : Artiste américains et français 1981 / 1991(Collection Speerstra), Musée des monuments Français Paris, Paris, France. (catalogue)

1989

- Yaki Kornblit Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

- Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany.

- Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany.

- Helmond Museum & Art Gallery, Helmond, The Netherlands.

1988

- De Horizon Voorbij, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, The Netherlands.

1987

- Galerie Thomas, München, Germany.

1986

- New York Graffiti, Leopold-Hoesch museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 9th - May 4th (catalogue).

- Helmond Museum & Art Gallery, Helmond, The Netherlands.

1985

- Galerie Yaki Kornblit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

- New York Graffiti, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, The Netherlands.

- Stellweg Seguy Gallery, New York, USA.

- Museum Helmond, Helmond, The Netherlands.

1984

- New York Graffiti (Collection Speerstra), Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark, September 7th - October 7th.

- Graffiti, Groninger Museum. Groningen, The Netherlands, January 14th - February 26th. (catalogue)

- Galerie Yaki Kornblit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

1983

- Graffiti, Museum Boijmans, Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, October 22nd - December 4th (catalogue).

- Post-Graffiti, Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, USA, December 1st - 31st. (catalogue), München, Germany.

- Galerie Yaki Kornblit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

1981

- New York/ New Wave, organized by Diego Cortez, P.S.1., Institute for Art and Urban Ressources, Long Island City, USA, February 15th - April 5th.

GHOST GALERIE

BLADE

(Steven D. Ogburn - American)

Born in 1957

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