Retrospective Exhibition KOOL KOOR: “ROOKS & ROBOTS” (in homage to his artist name, place of creation, and memories), this exhibition is a return to the origins of Kool Koor and the universe of his earliest works, a distinctly galactic era. Futuristic cities populated with robots, spaceships, galaxies, and abstract landscapes in vibrant 80s colors… Through this language, Kool Koor paints his interpretation of time and the universe, projecting multidimensional images. Each work presented is an immersion into a distant galaxy, where the smallest details hold significance, and key elements hide within them, inviting interpretation and engaging the viewer’s imagination. “Each of these works is like a dream. Anyone can dive into it, create their own stories through a precise and meticulous play of lines, urban architecture, and imaginary worlds,” says Kool Koor. Under the pseudonym KOOL KOOR, Charles Hargrove is an artist born in New York’s South Bronx (Mitchel Houses) and based in Brussels. A former companion of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, he is considered one of the most influential and important artists of the first New York urban art scene (alongside Rammellzee, A-One, Dondi White, Futura…). In 1978, he was admitted to the High School of Art and Design in New York, graduating in 1982. Transitioning from walls to canvases, he held his first exhibition at age 16 at “Fashion Moda,” the first New York gallery to focus on Bronx artists. From there, he crossed into the East Village to join Soho’s art scene before moving to Europe. His unique style is instantly recognizable. Precociously drawn to art, Charles Hargrove was obsessed with drawing even before discovering in 1976 that he could express himself on walls. The first spark came when he saw a neighbor writing her name on a fence in the neighborhood—it was possible! Reading everything in the urban landscape soon became an obsession, and, of course, marking his own presence there, ever further into New York with tags and increasingly elaborate murals. From that era, Kool Koor retained his love for messaging. He created his own language: futuristic cities, robots, spaceships evolving toward greater abstraction and subtle aesthetic emotions. “My first artist name was The Arbitrator Koor. I called myself The Arbitrator Koor because I felt like an arbitrator in my artistic work, a mediator between a reality we know and a different one. Kool came later when I started recording music. As a young adult, I was drawn to chess—I liked the rook. I wanted to use ‘Rook’ as my artist name, but I let it go. I kept the K and the R and flipped them. That’s how I got my artist name. It reflects my way of thinking and personifies my creativity: the play of line, architecture, and imaginary worlds. If you look at life or things from the other side, you can often understand them better. That’s how Koor was born.” “New York in the late seventies and early eighties was a very special place. There were so many incredibly creative people coming together, trying to find and express their identity. At that time, galleries were open to this kind of energy. If you had talent, New York was the city with a platform somewhere for you to express yourself. Back then, Fashion Moda in the South Bronx was that kind of place, and I was lucky enough to be brave enough to walk through its doors. Graffiti artists embodied this new wave, and everyone wanted to be a part of it… we went out to dinners, clubs, parties together, created, exhibited… we had fun. It’s only in hindsight that you understand its historical significance.” – Kool Koor Today, his work is exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Chicago Renaissance Society; The Butler Museum; The Groninger Museum, and more).