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For many graffiti is not an art form but more an act of vandalism. Many cannot see any further than a bunch of teenagers wasting their time in gangs and spraying buildings more or less abandoned. For the connoisseurs some graffiti places are way more religious than Mecca. One of the most representative attribute of graffiti art is that it is accessible to everyone, it is not narrowed down to a gallery system and it is free to enjoy. But what happens when graffiti is encapsulated in a gallery space? Is it a well deserved place for it and a recognition of the artists or is it a blasphemy ??? On the 7th of May, I attended the opening of the exhibition Cross the Streets at MACRO, an exhibition that aimed gathering a wide spectrum of street art, both Italian and international. The definition of street art was kept loose so the variety of styles exhibited was overwhelming. The atmosphere was very animated, quite a surprising energy for a gallery space-even a contemporary one. Lucamaleonte is an Italian contemporary artist known for his singular, realistic works, inspired by nature and ancient art. Born in Rome in 1983, Lucamaleonte graduated from the Central Institute for Restoration. He began his art story in the capital of Italy in 2001 when he discovered the one level stencil technique. After several years, he shifted from using poster and stickers to drawing freehand on walls and canvas. He is one of the few artists in the world able to produce elaborate multi-level stencils, characterized by many overlapping layers of color, Since 2004, Lucamaleonte has exhibited his work solo and with other artists in over 50 exhibitions. In 2008, Lucamaleonte was one of the few Italian artists invited to exhibit at the Cans Festival in London, the event organized by Banksy and promoted by street art guru Tristan Manco. He also participated in the collective street art show Scala Mercalli in the Auditorium of Rome and in the project Twenty Street Artists commissioned by the band Green Day. Lucamaleonte has been invited to exhibit his works all over the world, from Milan to Melbourne and Adelaide, and from Berlin to Paris and New York. He is not only an artist but an international promoter for street art. Together with the artists Sten and Lex, Lucamaleonte conceived and curated the three editions of the International Poster Art festival in Rome. Diamond was born in Rome in 1977. During his childhood, he showed a natural flair for design. He debuted as a graffiti writer on the Roman scene in the early 90's and, after attending an art high school, he completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome achieving the degree of 'Master Craftsman'. After appearing on the street art scene, Diamond became one of the leaders of the movement in the Eternal City. Diamond works on posters, often depicting women, which evoke the decorative motifs of Art Nouveau. The works of Diamond do not follow the cliches of classic street-art. The techniques he uses are out of the ordinary and his themes are often dark—his work contains symbolic and visionary implications. His artistic creations are stylistically both eclectic and restless, and quantitatively overflow ring. Charles "Chaz" Boforquez is known as the godfather of cholo writing. His iconic work can be found everywhere from the streets of his hometown, Los Angeles, to galleries around the world—not to mention tattooed on thousands of men. The Mexican-American artist grew up in Los Angeles in the '50s and '60s. There, he was introduced to the longstanding tradition of cholo writing, particularly in East Los Angeles where Latino gangs would tag buildings in their neighborhoods to claim their territory. His work is a variation on the classic Gothic, an homage to traditional Writing, but with sharp lines and accents. Unlike more conventional graffiti artists, Bojorquez prefers brush and paint over spray paint This allows him to make those precise lines, similar to the thick and thin of a calligraphy pen, a hallmark of his unique style. Since those early days, Bojarquezt has made work in the streets and in professional galleries, designed for brands like Converse and major films such as Star Wars, studied graphics in over 43 countries, and helped elevate the status of graffiti lei/it/mate art form. Mirko Reisser, born in 1971 in Luneburg, Germany, is an artist known worldwide for his iconic large scale graffiti works in the 3D-style, in which he writes his pseudonym, DAIM, in a serial repetition within the processes of construction and deconstruction. DAIM studied Fine Arts at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Art in Switzerland. Today, he lives and works in Hamburg. He has gained international recognition and he was invited to exhibit around the world. For his sophisticated technical style. DAIM gained the reputation of being one of the best graffiti-artists in the world. FFrank Shepard Fairey, better known as Obey, is an American artist, illustrator, graphic designer, activist, and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. Born in South Carolina in 1970, he studied at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California and the Rhode Island School of Design from where he graduated in 1992. He became famous rather quickly as a street artist in the early 90s through the dispersion of posters, murals, and a form of art communication based on logos . He began the "Andre the Giant has a Posse" sticker campaign (which became known as Obey the Giant) in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. Fairey uses stickers as a trigger for existential questions. Fairey's iconic poster of e President Barack Obama was adopted as the official emblem associated with the presidential campaign and encapsulates a number of recurring focuses in the artist's work, including propaganda, portraiture, and political power. He has been an active artist for over 20 years and his murals decorate cities all over the world.
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