Seen (artist)

American graffiti artist

Godfather of Graffiti

Seen

Seen at the SEEN CITY exhibition in Paris, 2007

Born|

Richard Mirando

Bronx, New York, U.S.

Style| Wildstyle
Movement| Graffiti
Website| graffitiloser.com

Richard Mirando, known as Seen, is an American graffiti artist.[1][2] He is one of the best known graffiti artists in the world and has been referred to as the Godfather of Graffiti.[1]

Seen first started to paint on the New York City Subway system in 1973.[1]

He was born in the Bronx, New York City.

## Life

[edit]

For the next 16 years he painted pieces across the city and on all subway routes, but they were especially prominent on the 2, 5, and 6 trains. He was responsible for dozens of whole-car top-to-bottoms, many of which have become iconic images of the time.[citation needed]

A piece, featuring Vaughn Bodē’s character Razzberry, by Seen on an R21 on the 6 line, 1980s

During the very early 1980s he started producing work on canvas, shown by galleries and bought by museums and private collectors.[citation needed] He continued to paint New York City subway trains until 1989, long after increased pressure from the MTA had stopped many from doing so. He was included in the 1983 PBS documentary Style Wars.[citation needed]

In the late 1980s he also undertook tattoo art, opening Tattoo Seen, a tattoo parlor[1] which became one of the most successful studios in New York City.[citation needed] His more recent work includes three-dimensional sculpture, mixed media work with reclaimed or discarded materials (often found in the street), and a series of hand-painted MTA New York subway maps. He continues to exhibit worldwide and produce work with and alongside artists such as Banksy.[citation needed]

In 2009, the Seen Gallery opened in Paris before becoming the Seen Studios,[3] France.

He has focused on painting comic book heroes.[1] He has his own clothing line that prints t-shirts with his lettering and comic hero renderings.[1]

*   *   *   *   *   *

## Exhibitions

[edit]

### Solo shows

[edit]

* 1982, 1983, 1985 : The Yaki Kornblitt Gallery, Amsterdam[citation needed]
* 1983 : Stellweg-Seguy gallery, New York City[citation needed]
* 1985 : Suntory company, Tokyo[citation needed]
* 1995 : Clayton Gallery, New York City[citation needed]
* 2001 : Twenty-four Gallery, Vancouver. Bob's Gallery, New York City[citation needed]
* 2003 : Toy Tokyo Gallery, New York City. STIP Gallery, Amsterdam. Stussy SF Gallery, San Francisco. Concrete Vibes Gallery, New York City. Marco Art Gallery, New York City[citation needed]
* 2005 : Rocket World Gallery, San Francisco. Outside Institute Space, Londres. Prosper Gallery, Tokyo. Mc Caigwelles Gallery, New York City[citation needed]
* 2006 : Stolen Space gallery, London[citation needed]
* 2007 : Seen City, Galerie Chappe, Paris[3][4][5]
* 2009 : The 1st SEEN Pop-Up Show, Lyon[3]
* 2009 : Carhartt Gallery, Weil am Rhein[3]
* 2009 : Kleerup Gallery, Stockholm[3]
* 2010 : PleaSE ENjoy @ Magda Danysz Gallery, Paris[3]
* 2011 : Seen, Opera Gallery, Paris[citation needed]

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Mirando, Richard (2014). They call me the godfather of graffiti Chapter 1973-1981. NYC: SEEN Studios / SDLB Publishing. ISBN 979-10-90020-01-6.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Wyatt, Daisy (19 June 2014). "Graffiti artist SEEN: 'Street art has lost its edge – it's not the same anymore': The 'Godfather of Graffiti' explains why he turned his back on street art". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
2. ^ Bachor, Kenneth (20 April 2017). "Preserving New York's History of Graffiti Art". Time. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
3. ^ a b c d e f "Seen Studios".
4. ^ "Seen, un artiste en état de graf'". Libération.fr (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2007.
5. ^ Seen, l'emblème du graffiti, Marie Claire, 2007

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seen (artist).

* The official Richard Mirando website
* UA @ 149st
* Interview with Seen Radio France Internationale
* The Cornell Hip Hop Collection preserves 149 of Seen's original drawings and 370 original photographs of his work

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

Artists|

* RKD Artists