LEE QUIÑONES

Born in Ponce de Leon, Puerto Rico, July 24, 1960
Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY

 

| SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019

  • If These Walls Could Talk, Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

  • Language Barriers, James Fuentes, NY, NY

2015

  • Lee Quinones, Nicole Klagsbrun Inc., NY, NY

2011

  • Taking the Fifth, Salon Bob, NY, NY

2009

  • Truth and Consequences, Il Trifoglio Nero, Genoa, Italy

2007

  • Lee Quinones, MoMA PS1, NY, NY

2006

  • Prelude, Galerîa Candela, San Juan, Puerto Rico

2005

  • A Day In The Life, Buck15, Miami, FL

2003

  • Space & Time, Rome Arts, NY, NY

2001

  • Ghetto Samurai, Salon Bob, NY, NY

  • Drawings, Then And Than, Rome Arts Gallery, NY. NY

  • Casual Getover, Lot 61, NY, NY

2000

  • Securing the Requiem, Private Residence, NY, NY

1999

  • Nuevo, Espace Romero, Paris, France

1996

  • Windows, Livestock Gallery, NY, NY

1994

  • Straight Forward, Urban Classics L.T.D, NY, NY

1985

  • New Horizons, Riverside Studios, London

1984

  • Rapid Enamellist, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, NY, NY

  • Rudolf Zwirner Gallery, Cologne, Germany

1983

  • Off The Streets, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Barbara Farber Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1982

  • Rusto-LEE-um, Fun Gallery, NY, NY

  • Barbara Gladstone Gallery, NY, NY

  • Barbara Farber Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Lisson Gallery, London, England

1980

  • The Third Phase, White Columns Gallery, NY, NY

  • Galleria Paolo Seno, Milano, Italy


| SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2021

  • The Cool and Cold: Painting from US and the USSR 1960 - 1990, Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany

2020

  • Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip Hop Generation, MFA, Boston, Mass.

2019 

  • Elements of Style: New York City Street Culture in the 1980s, Seoul Museum of Art

  • Henry Chalfant: Art Vs. Transit, The Bronx Museum

2018

  • The Zeitgeist, Maier Museum of Art, Lynchburg Virginia

  • Shoot the Pump, Bullet Space, New York, NY

  • Open Spaces Biennial, Kansas City, MO

  • Beyond the Streets, Los Angeles, CA

2017

  • Cross the Streets, Museum of Contemporary Art Rome, Rome, Italy

2016

  • Glamourous Graffiti, Nassau County Museum of Art, NY

2015

  • Unrealism, Gagosian and Jeffrey Deitch, Miami, FL

  • Le Pressionisme 1970 - 1990,  The Masterpieces of Graffiti Painting, Paris, France.

2014

  • The Other Americans, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany

2011

  • Art in The Streets, Geffen Center at the Museum of Contemporary Arts, LA, CA

  • El Museo’s Bienial: The S Files, El Museo del Barrio, NY, NY

  • Looking at Music 3.0, Museum of Mordern Art, New York, NY

  • Hyperreal: Art In America Around 1970, Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, Germany

  • Next Wave, Art Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY, NY

  • Nose Job, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY

  • Three Kings, Subliminal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2010

  • Sisley Art Project, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA

2009

  • Martin Wong’s Downtown Crossings, Asian Pacific American Institute, New York University, NY

  • Whole In the Wall, Galerie Helenbeck, NY, NY

2006

  • Downtown 81, Du Festival D’Automne, Paris, France

  • VH1/ Powerhouse Present: No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn, Powerhouse Gallery, NY, NY

2005

  • Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs; 1985-1995, Powerhouse Gallery, NY, NY

  • Style & Design from A-Z Hosted by Complex Magazine, Latin Collector Gallery, NY, NY

2004

  • East Village USA, New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY, NY

  • New Works Lee Quinones & Pedro Gomez, ROME Arts, NY, NY

2003

  • Bright Lights Big City, David Zwirner, NY, NY

2001

  • Yellow’s Spring Party, Hotel Astor, Miami, Florida

2000

  • Hip-Hop: Roots, Rhymes & Rage, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY

  • Summer Show, DFN Gallery, NY, NY

  • Neo Graffiti Project, Agnes B., NY, NY

  • Five From The Underground, Steven Vail Galleries, Des Moines, Iowa

  • Small Stuff, AZ/NY Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

  • Xhibition Transition, Quantum Leap, Chicago, IL

1999

  • NY2K, El Bohio Cultural Community Center, NY, NY

1997

  • Contents Under Pressure, Tramshed, London, England

1996

  • Up From The Underground, Lineage Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

  • Expanded Exhibition, Franklin Loft, Chicago, Illinois

  • Futura-Lee-Stash-Russ, Surr Gallery, NY, NY

1995

  • 1st Annual Holiday Exhibition, Mary Anthony Galleries, NY, NY

  • Doggy Style, Rick Prol Studio, NY

  • 25 Contemporary Artists From New York, Yuki-Sun International, Nagoya, Japan

1994

  • Aerosoul, The Paterson Museum, Paterson, NJ

  • Urban Expressionism, Hudson Guild Gallery, NY, NY

  • Influential Works in the 90’s, The Hobbs Gallery, NY, NY

  • Spray Can Symposium, Sixth Congress Gallery, Tucson, AZ

  • The New Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands

1993

  • In Transit, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY, NY

1992

  • Graffiti, Klarefeld Perry Gallery, NY, NY

  • Poetry In Motion, Beret International Gallery, Chicago, IL

  • Graffiti Coming from the Subway, Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands

  • Graffiti Art: American and French, Museum of National Monuments, Paris, France

  • Malcolm X: Portrait of a Legacy, Aaron Davis Hall at City College, NY, NY

  • Education 92, Absolut Vodka, Interview Magazine and Urban Architecture, Inc. A Charitable Auction for D.I.F.F.A (Design Industries Foundation For AIDS), Detroit, Michigan

  • Your House Is Mine, Exit Art, NY, NY

  • The Power of the City, City of Power, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY

  • Legacy, Rempire Gallery, NY, NY

  • Rapid Enamellist, David Leonardis Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

1991

  • Hip-Hop Nation, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT; Liverpool Gallery, Belgium

  • Inner City, Outer Limits, Kenkeleba Gallery, NY, NY

  • World Disorder, Cultural Space, NY, NY

  • Images of Labor, Gallery 1199, NY, NY

  • Urban Classics Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

  • Graffiti Movement, Colleen Greco Gallery, Suffen, NY, NY

  • Painting in the East Village, Vacuum Gallery, NY, NY

  • Post Graffiti, Federal Reserve Board Building, Washington, D.C.

1990

  • High-Low Art, Museum of Modern Art, NY, NY

  • Your House Is Mine, Bullet Space, NY

1989

  • Boogie Down: Miracle on the Duece, Whitney Museum of American Art at Phillip Morris, NY, NY

  • Graffiti Retro, Stadtische Gallerie, Goppingen, Netherlands; Museum of American Graffiti, NY, NY

  • Golden Opportunity, Nest Foundation, Leo Castelli, NY, NY

  • Friends To Assist Puerto Rico, Common Wealth of Puerto Rico Building, NY, NY

  • The Forrest Show, Red Square, NY, NY

1988

  • Contemporary Art Auction #2, El Bohio Community and Cultural Center, NY, NY

  • Art for Eldridge, The Mobile Art Show, NY, NY

1987

  • Melee Archives, Franklin Furnace, NY

1986

  • Miss Liberty Show, Barney’s New York, NY, NY

  • Arts and Leisure, Group Material, The Kitchen, NY, NY

  • Liberty and Justice, Alternative Museum, NY, NY

  • Kings of the Spray, Flow Ace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

  • Celebration VII: Seventh Heaven, New Museum at the World Trade Center, NY, NY

  • New York Underground, Institute for North American Studies, Barcelona, Spain

1985

  • Group Material, Biennial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY

  • Forecast: Images of the Future, Kenkeleba Gallery, NY, NY

  • Rain Dance, Benefit for the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, NY, NY

1984

  • Rapid Enamel, Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

  • Frontier Art, Galleria D’Arte Moderna, Bologna, Italy

  • Classical American Graffiti Artist, Galleria Thomas, Munich, Germany

  • Painting and Sculpture Today, Indianapolis Museum, Indianapolis, IN

  • The New Portrait, Institute for Art and Urban Resources at P.S.1, Long Island City, NY

  • Chill Out New York, Kenkeleba Gallery, NY, NY

1983

  • Post Graffiti, Sidney Janis Gallery, NY, NY

  • Portrait for the 80’s, Protetch McNeil, NY, NY

  • Six Latin Artists, Gallery 1199, NY, NY

  • The Comic Art Show, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY

  • From the Streets, Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC

  • Graffiti, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Galleria Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne, Germany

  • Style Wars, film premier Museum of Modern Art, NY, NY

1982

  • Documenta #7, Kassel, Germany

1981

  • Beyond Words, Mudd Club, NY, NY

  • New York/New Wave, Institute for Art and Urban Resource at P.S.1, Long Island, City, NY

  • The Drawing Show, Mudd Club, NY, NY

  • Events, The New Museum, NY, NY

  • Stations Of The Elevated, film premier Museum of Modern Art, NY, NY

  • New York Film Festival, Lincoln Center, NY, NY

1980

  • Graffiti Art Success for America, Fashion Moda, Bronx, NY

  • Times Square Show, NY, NY

  • Artist Invite Artist, Fashion Moda, Bronx, NY

1979

  • The Fabulous Five, Galleria La Medusa, Rome, Italy

  • Lee Quinones/Jean Michel Basquait/Fred Brathwaite, Canal Zone, NY, NY

  • The Fab 5ive, Unique Clothing Warehouse, NY, NY


| PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

  • Museum of Modern Art, NY, NY

  • Whitney Museum of Modern Art, NY, NY

  • Museum Boijman Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands

  • Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands

  • Brooklyn Museum, NY, NY

  • Museum of the City of New York, NY, NY

  • Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas

  • Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, Germany


| COMMISSIONS

2018

  • Supreme, Spring Collection

2016

  • Coney Island Art Walls, NY, NY

2015

  • Hotel Indigo Lower East Side, NY, NY

2012

  • Lucky Guy, Broadway

2011

  • Birds of a Feather, Geffen Center at the Museum of Contemporary Art

2010

  • Rasta Monsta Van, for “How To Make It In America,” HBO New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission

2008

  • Ford Flex, Automobile Magazine

2007

  • Voices Carry, Commission by Cleveland Board of Education and Progressive Art Alliance

2006

  • Recapture the Rapture, Painting Performance for Blondie performance, Deitch Projects

  • Artstar Parade, Produced by Gallery HD and Deitch Projects

  • Commission by the City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands

2005

  • Yo Soy Boriqua Float at New York City Puerto Rican Day Parade

  • Adidas Superstar 35, limited edition shoe

  • $50 on the Copperhead, C Nike-Nort

2004

  • King Size, King Size

2003

  • Boys Club of New York

1997

  • Contents Under Pressure, Levi’s Store, London, England

  • Harper’s Bazaar

1995

  • The Hood, Rome, Italy

  • Sedanstr-Lister Meile Subway Station, Hanover, Germany

  • The Roots, national tour design

1990

  • BO29-Code 366, Set for video “Now That I Found Love For You,” Heavy D.

1987

  • The Golden Child, Handball Wall at Corlears #56, NY, NY

1982

  • The Awakening, IRT Worth Street Station, NY, NY

  • Linjnbaan, Rotterdam, Netherlands

  • Lion’s Den, Handball at Corlears #56, NY, NY

1981

  • Silent Thunder, Set Dress for the film Wild Style at the Corlears #56 Amphitheater, East River Park, NY, NY

  • In the Yard on Doomsday, The New Museum, NY, NY

  • Allen Boy’s, Allen Street, NY

1979

  • Land of Demons, Handball Wall at P.S. 137, NY, NY

  • Untitled, Unique Clothing House, NY, NY

  • Graffiti 1979, Handball wall, NY, NY

1978

  • Howard the Duck, Handball wall at Corlears Junior High #56, NY, NY 1976

  • Disco City, Hamilton Madison House, Alfred E. Smith Houses, NY, NY


| BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

2013

  • City as Canvas: New York City Graffiti from the Martin Wong Collection

2010

  • Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art, Taschen Books

2008

  • Definition: The Art & Design of Hip-Hop by Cey Adams, Harper Collins

2007

  • The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art and Music Drive New York City by Elizabeth Currid, Princeton University Press

  • Mascots + Mugs: The Characters and Cartoons of Subway GraffitiWild Style: The Sampler, PowerHouse Books

2005

  • Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985-2005, PowerHouse Books

2004

  • Hip-Hop Files by Martha Cooper, From Here to Fame Press

2001

  • New York City Aerosol Artists by Ivor L. Miller, University Press of Mississippi

2000

  • Painting The Town by Jan Seider Ramirez, Yale University Press

  • Pop Art: A Continuing History, Thames & Hudson, London

  • The Vibe History of Hip-Hop edited by Alan Light, Three Rivers Press

1998

  • Basquiat by Phoebe Hoban

1993

  • Freestyle by Desse and SBG. Florent Mascot/ Francoise Millet

  • History of Modern Art: 3rd Edition by Harry H.H. Arnason. N. Abrams, Inc.

1992

  • Keith Haring, The Authorized Biography by John Gruen, Simon and Schuster

1991

  • Spray Kunst by Staffon Jacobson

1990

  • At the Wall by Johannes Stal

1989

  • Street Art: 1989 Calendar by Haskell Werlin and Connie Barbour. Off The Wall Calendars, RMD Studios

1987

  • Spraycan Art by Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff., Thames and Hudson

1986

  • Art After Midnight by Steven Hager, St. Martin’s Press

1985

  • Fresh Hip-Hop Don’t Stop by Nelson George, Sally Banes, Susan Flinker, Patty Romanowski, Random House

1984

  • Subway Art by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. Thames and Hudson

  • Hip-Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti by Steven Hager. St. Martin’s Press

  • The Rap Attack: African Jive to New York Hip-Hop by David Troops. Pluto Press

1983

  • Street Art by Allen Schartzman. Dial Press Double Day Co.

  • Hip-Hop Story by Sidney and Sophie Bramley

1982

  • Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York by Craig Castleman.

  • Cambridge and London: The MIT Press

1978

  • Graffiti A New York by Andrea Nelli. Edistampa Co.

1974

  • The Faith of Graffiti by Norman Mailer. New York: Praeger/ Alskog Publishers


|CATALOGS

2011

  • Art in the Streets, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA

2009

  • Truth and Consequences, Genoa, Italy

  • Whole in the Wall, Galleria Helenbeck, Paris, France

2006

  • Basquiat: An Anthology for Puerto Rico, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico/ Art Premium; San Juan, Puerto Rico

2005

  • Jean Michael Basquiat, Brooklyn Museum of American Art, Brooklyn, NY

  • East Village USA, New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY, NY

2000

  • Xhibition Transition, Leapnet, Chicago, Il

1997

  • Fifteen Years Aboveground, C. World Gallery, NY, NY

  • Contents Under Pressure, Mo-Wax Arts, London, England

  • American Graffiti, Electa Napoli

1995

  • Hannover/ New York Express, X-Com Communications, USTRA Transit, Hannover, Germany

1994

  • Spraycan Symposium, Sixth Congress Gallery, Tucson, Arizona

1992

  • The Power of the City/City of Power, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY

  • Graffiti Coming from the Subway, Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands Essay by Froukge Hoekstra

  • Jean Michel Basquiat, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY

  • Graffiti Art: 1981-1991, Museum of National Monuments, Paris, France

1991

  • Post Graffiti/Fine Art, Federal Reserve Building, Washington, D.C., Essays by Henry Chalfant and Mary Anne Goley

1990

  • High Low Art, Museum of Modern Art, NY, NY

1988

  • Contemporary Art Auction #2, El Bohio Cultural Center, NY, NY

1986

  • Arts and Leisure Group Material, The Kitchen, NY, NY

1985

  • Lee Quinones: New Horizons, Riverside Studios, London. Introduction by Milena Kalinovska

  • Hip-Hop Urban Folk Culture U.S.A., Institute of North American Studies, Barcelona, Spain

  • Group Material, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY

1984

  • Rapid Enamel, Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

  • Arte Di Frontiera, New York Graffiti, Galleria Communale d’Arte, Moderna, Bologna, Italy. Published by Gabriele Mazzotta, Milan, Italy. Essay by Francesca Alinovi.

  • Painting and Sculpture Today, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana

  • Classical American Graffiti Writers and High Graffiti Artists, Galleria Thomas. Essay by Duncan Smith

  • New York Graffiti, Louisiana Museum, Netherlands

1983

  • The Comic Art Show, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, NY

  • Graffiti, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands, Essay by Edit DeAk.

  • Post Graffiti, Sidney Janis Gallery, NY, NY. Intro by Dolores Neumann.

1982

  • Documenta #7, Kassel, Germany

1981

  • Artist Invite Artist, Fashion Moda, NY, NY

  • Sotheby’s: Contemporary Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture. Sotheby’s, NY, NY

1980

  • Artists Invite Artists, Fashion Moda, NY, NY

  • Calli Graffiti, Galleria D’Arte, Torbandena, Italy. Forward by Delano Da Costa Greenidge.

1979

  • The Fabulous Five: Calli Graffiti de Lee Quinones and Fred Brathwaite, Galleria La Medusa, Rome, Italy. Essay by Claudio Bruni Sakraischik and Adriano Buzzati Traverso.


|Film/Video/Television/Radio Appearances

2018

  • Wheels, Actor

2017

  • Boom for Real, Interview and artwork

2015

  • A Brief History of Graffiti, Interview and artwork

2011

  • Work of Art, Bravo, Guest Judge

2008

  • Spraymasters, Interview and artwork

  • VH1 News Presents: NYC 1977, Produced by Film77, Interview and artwork

2006

  • Yo Soy Boriqua, Directed by Rosie Perez and Liz Garbus. Produced by IFC Films and Moxie Firecracker Films

  • Artstar, Produced by Gallery HD and Deitch Projects

  • Fox News Live

2005

  • Interview with Lord Sear Shade, 45 Sirius Satellite Radio, NY, NY

  • WABC TV, Tour de Lee news piece, NY, NY

  • East Village USA Radio, Interview with Dan Cameron of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY, NY

  • VH1 Hip-Hop Honors, Special Guest VH1 Network, NY, NY

2004

  • VH1 Hip-Hop Honors Honoree/ Co-Presenter with Debbie Harry of Blondie and Fab 5 Freddy, VH1 network, NY, NY

2002

  • Bomb the System, Directed by Adam Bhalal Lough, Produced by Bomb the System, LCC/ Drops Entertainment

1999

  • Acts of Worship, Directed by Rosemarie Rodriguez, Manifest Productions

  • Once in the Life, Directed by Laurence Fishburne

1997

  • Two Small Voices, Hearst Entertainment for Lifetime Network, Props Assistant

  • On The Run, OTR Productions, Set Dresser/ Scenic

1996

  • Loose Woman, Directed by Paul Bernard, L.W. Productions

  • My Brother’s Keeper, Set Dresser

  • Dirty Laundry, DL Productions, Set Dresser/ Scenic

  • Perdita Durango, Occidental Media Corporation, On-Set Dresser

1995

  • Straight Forward, PBS Documentary for German TV, Directed by Patricia Crevits, Tunnel Linkage Productions, Interview and paintings featured

  • High Speed Chaser, Directed by David Perez, Automatic Productions

  • Music Video for Orange 9MM, Picture Car Coordinator and racecar driver

  • Vanishing Point, Fox Television, Directed by Charles Carner, Westgate Productions, Set Dresser/ Paintings featured

1994

  • Original School New York, Documentary Directed by Patricia Crevits, Tunnel Linkage Productions

1982

  • Style Wars, Directed by Tony Silvers/ Henry Chalfant, Subway whole cars featured

1981

  • Wild Style Actor: Directed by Charlie Ahearn, Pow Wow Productions

  • Stations Of The Elevated, Directed by M. Kircheimer, Streetwise Films, Various subway whole cars featured circa 1975-77

  • Rapture, Blondie music video, Set Design with Jean Michel Basquiat and Fred Braithwaite


| AWARDS

2020

  • El Museo de Barrio, Padrino, Three Kings Day Parade

2019

  • Henry Street Settlement Artist Honoree

2011

  • Groundswell Community Mural Project, Artist Honoree, NY, NY

2008

  • Jam Master Jay Award for the Arts, NY, NY

2006

  • Great Brooklynite, Honored by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz during his Inaugural Address with keynote speech by Hilary Clinton, Brooklyn, NY

2005

  • Lee Quinones Day Proclamation by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields

2004

  • VH1 Hip-Hop Honors Honoree