Elms Lesters Paintings Rooms

Born in New York in 1955, Futura is one of the most famous graffiti artists in the world, exhibiting with Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York with his contemporaries Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat.

"Back then I don't think anyone ever thought much about the future of the movement and where it was going. Surely I didn't. It was a passing fancy, a fad, a sign of the times. Social unrest and war were at the forefront of our culture. There were gangs and there were causes, there was indecision and there was pressure. There was a feeling of helplessness and there were messages to be delivered. Modern day graffiti was that movement"

One of the most unique features about Futura's work was his abstract approach to his style of graffiti. The primary focus of the average subway artist was lettering. Futura displayed a much broader focus; he mastered the ability to create interstellar scenes that set him apart from his peers. Futura's aerosol strokes could be as thin as the fine lines achieved only through the use of an airbrush.

In the past his most prolific areas of work has been as an illustrator/designer of record sleeves, first becoming involved with The Clash; producing a sleeve for their Radio Clash 7" single and handwriting the sleeve notes and lyrics sheet for their LP Combat Rock.

Years later James Lavelle resurrected his career by getting him, to produce the artwork for several releases on Mo' Wax records, this also led to Futura producing the imagery which has largely defined James Lavelle's UNKLE project.

Recently much of Futura's artwork is channelled towards the production of highly collectible toys, and during the 1990's he was heavily involved with the clothing companies such as Subware, Phillie Blunt, Nike, and GFS.

'PIRATE UTOPIAS' a sell out,landmark exhibition at Elms Lesters featured Futura and Jose Parla.

Art historian Ben Jones' fascinating and in depth interview with Futura is published in The Elms Lesters Book

Elms Lesters is a primary source of works by Futura