Fab 5 Freddy

Invited to the Neiman Center in 2018, Fab 5 Freddy produced a series of six screenprints of boxing and martial arts icons as well as the founder of the Black Panthers, Huey P. Newton and the Godfather of Harlem, Bumpy Johnson. The subjects and the technique - the prints are flocked with glitter - recall works on canvas from the artist’s 2009 Crystal Punch series which employ crystals to highlight his subjects’ boxing shorts or gloves.      

Fred Brathwaite (b. 1959), better known as Fab 5 Freddy, together with Lee Quiñones, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, was a seminal figure of New York City’s downtown graffiti scene in the 1970s and ultimately transitioned from making street art to exhibiting his work in galleries and museums around the world. Most notably, his work was featured in the groundbreaking exhibition Art in the Streets at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2011. Beyond his art practice, Fab 5 directed Wild Style, a cult classic and the first film about Hip-Hop culture along with numerous music videos and commercials. 

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