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A-One (graffiti artist)

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A-One
Born
Anthony Clark

1964 (1964)
Manhattan, New York, United States
DiedNovember 11, 2001(2001-11-11) (aged 36–37)
Paris, France
NationalityAmerican
Known forGraffiti art
Parents
  • Anthony Eden Clark (father)
  • Janette Gordon Clark (mother)
RelativesOcky Clark (brother)

Anthony Clark (1964 – November 11, 2001), known as A-One, was an American graffiti artist. He developed a style he called "aerosol expressionism".[1]

Life and career

A-One was born in Manhattan in 1964 and grew up in the Mitchel Houses in the South Bronx.[1] He was the son of Janette Gordon Clark and the grandson of Mannie Clark Sr., head caddy at the Mayfair Golf Course in Sanford, Florida in the late 1950s.[2]

He began painting at the age of six, and writing graffiti on subway cars in the mid-1970s.[3] A-One joined Rammellzee's graffiti crew Tag Master Killers, which also consisted of Delta2, Kool Koor, and Toxic.[4]

Each member designed their own style for arming letters based on Rammellzee's theory of Gothic Futurism, which describes graffiti as the weaponization of letters in a battle to reclaim language from a "diseased culture" of social control.[1]

In the early 1980s, they were among the graffiti artists bringing original art and music from the Bronx and Queens to the downtown art scene. In 1982, A-One, Toxic, and Kool Koor participated in the group show Camouflaged Panzerism at Fashion Moda in South Bronx.[5]

A-One was a friend and collaborator of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.[1] Basquiat became his mentor and taught him how get involved with art galleries.[2] A-One is the subject of Basquiat's paintings Portrait of A-One A.K.A. King (1982), which sold for $11.5 million in 2020, and Anthony Clark (1985).[6][7][8]

In 1983, A-One participated in the exhibit Jenny Holzer: Survival Series with A-One, Mike Glier, and Lady Pink at Lisson Gallery in London and the Post-Graffiti exhibit at Sidney Janis Gallery in New York.[5]

In 1984, he participated in the group shows Arte di Frontiera: New York Graffiti in Italy, Classical American Graffiti Writers and High Graffiti Artists at Galerie Thomas in Munich, and Rapid Enamel: The Art of Graffiti at the University of Chicago.[9][5]

A-One became the youngest artist to participate in the Venice Biennale in 1984.[2] His work was featured in the exhibition Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from October 2020 to July 2021.[1]

A-One also had numerous solo exhibitions: Galeria Salvatore Ala, Milan, Italy in 1983; Piccolo Museum in Lecce, Italy in 1985; and Galerie Quintessens, in Utrecht, the Netherlands in 1990; Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala in Milan, Italy in 2010.[3]

For some time, he lived in Verona, Italy.[2] He later moved to Paris, where he continued to work until his death from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 37 on November 11, 2001.[3] He is survived by his older brother Octavius "Ocky" Clark, a 1991 Pan American Games gold medalist.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Dive into "Writing the Future"". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  2. ^ a b c d Flewellyn, Valada Parker (2009). African Americans of Sanford. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0-7385-6762-4.
  3. ^ a b c "A-One Biography – A-One on artnet". www.artnet.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  4. ^ "Rammellzee: Graffiti Writer, Artist and Deity "Racing For Thunder"". July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-06-23. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  5. ^ a b c "Basquiat and His Contemporaries: Exhibition Timeline". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  6. ^ "Jean-Michel Basquiat - Portrait of A-One A.K.A. King | 20th c. & Contemporary Art Evening Sale New York Monday, December 7, 2020 Lot 16". Phillips. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  7. ^ "Basquiat's 'Portrait of A-One A.K.A King' to fetch US$15 million at Phillips". The Peak Singapore - Your Guide to The Finer Things in Life. August 21, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  8. ^ "Phillips' 20th Century & Contemporary Art Sale Smashes Artist Records, Realizes $134.6 Million Total". ArtfixDaily. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  9. ^ "Archivio Ferrari > Ricerca: arte di frontiera". www.genusbononiaearchiviofotografico.it. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
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