American Gold, 2023

KAVES

38 x 60 inches

Mixed media on archival paper

About:

Michael "KAVES" McLeer is a world-renown graffiti artist, musician and tattooist. Having left his mark, literally, on the NYC transit system from the age of ten, Kaves turned his attention to "legal" art in the form of fine art and tattooing, as well as acting and directing. Kaves has created original pieces for companies such as Nike, Adidas and Jaguar, to the Beastie Boys and the 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau wine label for Georges Duboeuf. Kaves' images have been published in books including Henry Chalfant's pioneering 1984 chronicle SprayCan Art, Burning New York, Mascots & Mugs: The Characters & Cartoons of Subway Graffiti, Fresh Paint NYC, Graffiti 360, Graffiti Planet 2 & Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers. His own premier book release, Skin Graf: Masters of Graffiti Tattoo, is set to be released on April 25, 2013 through Prestel. His paintings have been shown everywhere from the MTV Real World: Brooklyn loft, as well as, the Gunter Sachs Museum of Fine Arts in Germany, The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, CA and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. His first-ever New York City solo show during the summer of 2011 at the Hionas Gallery, garnered overwhelming critical acclaim and saw collectors clamoring for works by the former "vandal."