Interviewed by curator and artist D Young V

Question 1

Prior to 2012 where you exhibited your first fine art pieces at San Francisco’s Cassel Gallery, your entire creative focus was as a graffiti writer. You started out as a writer in your hometown of New York City before making your way to Chicago in 2006. From there, you expanded to painting walls on a global level. Can you give our readers a brief history of your experiences and motivations as a graffiti writer before making your transition to fine art?

Answer 1

Growing up, I always wanted to paint. I didn’t really know what it meant to be an artist; I just knew that painting made me happy. When I was in high school—before I became a graffiti writer—I grew up in New York City. I actually went to an art high school, where I spent hours upon hours doing figure drawing, becoming fairly classically trained in color theory, figure drawing, figure painting, and oil painting. By the time I was in eighth grade, I was oil painting for 4 to 5 hours a week, and I still have some of those canvases to this day.

I always felt like the art studio was my home in a way. The smell of oil paints and turpentine always made me feel content. It was a home away from home.

Art is home too—people consider it an action, but it’s a kind of place for me. When I’m painting graffiti, muraling, or a canvas, I’m in a kind of home—a state of peace, if you will.

I moved around a lot as a kid, and drawing and painting were always there, no matter where I was. There are lots of pictures of me sitting on porches—whether in Atlanta, Georgia, or in New York City—painting. I liked painting outside. I always liked painting outside, even way before I was a graffiti writer. I still paint mostly outside. Even when I journal and paint, I like to be outside. That is why I love California, I think, because I can paint outside almost all year round. There is something about the open air, the sky… the space, that frees me. I used to think about that when I was doing graffiti too—I remember painting trains in the middle of the night just thinking about how lucky I was to be outside, listening to the spray, seeing the stars, and doing art. Secretly.

I started doing graffiti probably around 1996. I wrote “Magic” (MAJIK) because my Polish nickname, Madz (MADZ), is pronounced similarly to how Americans would pronounce “Maj.” At first, I was just sketching in a black book. The ’90s in New York were full of underground music scenes—punk rock, grunge, and hip-hop. The club CBGBs was alive, and underground hip-hop shows were happening all over the city—Lower East Side, Uptown, the Bronx. We would go to these shows to hear music and watch breakdancers. So most kids were part of some subculture. There wasn’t the internet or cell phones, and in NYC I think it was hard to do sports—maybe some kids did, but our high school experience was really dictated by the kind of music you listened to and the kind of art or dance you expressed. I joined a motley crew of hip-hoppers—kids that did graffiti (drew and painted), kids that danced (breakdancing), kids that rapped or DJed, etc. There was so much music and art shaping our lives then.

I didn’t really develop as a graffiti writer until college when I started painting with some graffiti writers from Chicago—Read (READ) from SB Crew, Jinx from SB Crew, and Kyle from SB Crew. I painted with some of those guys and started painting a lot, mostly on track sides and trains. And I kept painting—I never stopped.

I did graffiti secretly while pursuing a rigorous academic career as a teacher, professor, and researcher. I kept my art life hidden, though it was always a big part of my social life, love life, and family life. Everything was graffiti and art—except for my academic life. I married a graffiti writer—my first husband—and I met some of my closest friends including my best friend and art partner, the street artist Amanda Lynn. It was actually Amanda Lynn who encouraged me to return to fine art.

I hadn’t done fine art since high school, but Amanda encouraged me to participate in a group show she curated at Cassel Gallery in 2012. For that show, I painted two highly detailed, realistic pieces—both of trains, both about immigration. My parents are immigrants. One piece featured trains for graffiti writers, while the other had a boat, I think. I framed them and put them in the show. They didn’t sell, so I gave one to my brother and one to my dad—they still have them. But Amanda’s encouragement pushed me to start showing in galleries again.

Through Amanda Lynn, I kept exhibiting my work. She was so encouraging; every show she curated she asked me to be a part of, and my confidence grew. I didn’t really know I could ever show in a gallery—that was for “real” artists. I started pushing her to paint bigger and bigger and be more central on the streets; she pushed me to be more expressive on the canvas, and that is how we developed over a decade or so. We eventually had a show together at Known Gallery. She has always been one of my greatest supporters, and it just goes to show that friendship, support, and the people who are there for you truly define who you are. So, thank you.

I always loved abstract art in museums, but I didn’t start painting abstractly until 2013 or so. I think my first abstract work was for the second CASSEL Gallery show—I did an abstract watercolor—or a series. I love watercolor; it’s as expressive as spray paint but harder to control. What I love about spray paint is how immediate the color is—it pops! You control the can, and the color, and place it where you want on the wall. That is that—you are in control. But watercolor is different; it controls you. The water controls the paint, the paint controls the artist. Or at least that is how I feel when I paint—it’s as if the paint is coming out of me in some unexpected way. I love watching color and water interact and move.

In 2014, I even took a community center class—a watercolor landscape painting course—where I was surrounded by women in their 70s. They were so good! I loved it. That’s actually where my passion for abstract watercolor and ink began, in that class with those older women at night in Oakland.

Since then, I’ve done a lot of graffiti and mostly abstract work, though I still do figurative journals occasionally, just for myself. I also paint landscapes from time to time, and I’ve been really curious about revisiting landscapes again. But I love painting huge and tiny abstracts with watercolor and acrylic.

My collaborations with Amanda Lynn have been a huge source of inspiration because we experiment endlessly. When you collaborate with someone who has no fear, the sky’s the limit.

Art and graffiti have always been my home, and graffiti writers have always been welcoming to me. In that way, graffiti and art are my home.

Question 2

That is a very unique, impressive, and extensive background in the arts you have. It’s clear that your relationship to drawing and painting goes incredibly deep. From a more formal education in art as a youth to your latter years on the street as a graffiti artist, you have certainly achieved a healthy balance of “art education.” It’s funny that in reference to your introduction to Amanda Lynn, you refer to the concept of a “real artist” as one who shows their work in art galleries, whereas a gallery artist may find a graffiti or street artist more “courageous” or “authentic” for the risks they take and the wider public audience they reach. It’s truly amazing to witness the inspirational and symbiotic relationship that you and Amanda Lynn have achieved over the years. Though you both have very distinct styles and visions, when you two come together you create your own singular entity; like two people blending into one. Your collaborations are done under the name “AlynnMags,” a combination of your two names that serves as a written symbol of the harmony you two have created together. Many artists can be very solitary; often artists collaborate with other artists. There have always been collectives and graffiti crews, but it’s rare to see the type of dynamic that you and Amanda Lynn have as a duo. You’ve both clearly pushed each other as artists in media, scale, style, expanding the confidence of your work both in the gallery and on the streets.

The question I have is not necessarily what makes you both work so magnificently together as artists, but as people. This question pertains more to your similarities or differences in your individual backgrounds, lifestyles, philosophies, and/or spiritual beliefs that are not necessarily specific to your literal art practice.

In your opinion, what do you think the chemistry between you and Amanda Lynn consists of to generate such a powerful friendship and truly harmonious dyad?

Answer 2

You are right. Our individual backgrounds, lifestyles, philosophies, and spiritual beliefs brought us together. Importantly, over time all of those have changed and we’ve remained open to one another’s changes. For example, I’ve gone through being a student to being a mother to being divorced to being partnered, and the whole time Amanda cheered me on. None of those life events threatened our creativity or our relationship. In fact, those things like our philosophies and spiritual beliefs directly impact how we paint; in turn, how we paint directly impacts our spiritual beliefs and philosophies. We’ve really evolved together, and I think our murals show that evolution—both skill-wise, and as our friendship deepens our collaborations get bigger and more complex, and we want to share some of that with the world.

In fact, we just created an online course that you can find at “the get up art” (@alynnmags_thegetup). It’s going live in a couple of weeks: thegetup.art. I love this course; I just finished watching it again. We are making it perfect and releasing it soon.

We decided that we wanted to bring our knowledge to other people. Sharing our love for art, our love for collaboration, our love for beautifying spaces with the world was our next big project. We had the idea exactly a year ago, March 8, 2024. It was a year after we had both gotten injured and hospitalized literally within 24 hours of one another. A year later, we decided to bring what saved us, which was our friendship and our art, to the world. Now, a year after that—two years after our injuries occurred—we are releasing an online course because we really believe that everyone who wants to learn to paint will make the world a more colorful place. Through the process of making the course too, we also supported one another. Some weeks I wasn’t able to work on it because I had other obligations to my children and jobs, so Amanda took the lead. On some weeks Amanda was more busy, as she was preparing for a solo show, so I would then take the reins. Collaboration is really about forgiveness, working together, openness, and generosity of spirit, and Amanda encompasses all of that.

Question 3

You chose a very impressive lineup of artists to collaborate with for “HOME.” Aside from Amanda Lynn, there is Apex, Ian Ross, Margaretta, Lady Henze, Melot, Mad C, Sean Paul Lorentz, and newcomer Jessica Schwartz. It seems that you made a brilliant choice to harmoniously combine your style with the aesthetics that each individual artist possesses. Outside of the obvious stylistic reasons you chose to collaborate with these artists, you appear to have a very personal relationship with each of your collaborators. Can you discuss your thought process in choosing these specific artists to collaborate with for “HOME”?

Answer 3

I absolutely love collaborating, especially artistically, but really in every aspect of my life. When I was a professor, I also enjoyed collaborating on written research. I truly believe in the motto “#better together.” Collaboration, for me, is the key to life—everything is a collaboration—life, parenting, relationships. I feel if you know how to collaborate, you can live a rich and full life.

For this project, I reached out to a mix of people—mostly local artists, but also a few women I deeply admired, like MadC Merlot, even though she’s based outside of SF. Most of the people I contacted were folks I had either painted with before or knew through past shows—people I had a connection with. Some said no, and others said yes. It was a blend of serendipity and openness.

Through this process, I’ve realized how much we all learn from collaborating. Sometimes, it’s about seeing color and form in ways I hadn’t before; other times, it’s about connecting with people at their core. We had so many meaningful conversations about what home really means. Showing art is a collaboration in a way too—a collaboration between the artist and viewer.

Truly ALL of life is a collaboration. Spiritually. Physically. You name it.

Question 4

Much of your work in “HOME” is very reminiscent of the Color Field work of Helen Frankenthaler. Frankenthaler, also a native New Yorker like yourself, would lay her large-scale canvases on the ground and work on them by applying her paint from hovering above. This is the exact same process that you apply to your canvases and large-scale paper works in your most recent series of abstract works. During a recent studio visit with you, I had mentioned the similarities I saw between your recent works and those of Helen Frankenthaler’s Color Field work while witnessing your process; you were overjoyed by the comparison I made. You had said that Helen Frankenthaler is one your biggest inspirations and one of your favorite artists. Can you explain to our readers the connection and inspirations you feel with Helen Frankenthaler and her work?

Answer 4

When I was 18, I did an internship at ArtForum magazine, which, at the time, felt like a dream come true. My job was to sort through millions of magazines from decades past—pretty overwhelming, but in the process, I came across an issue featuring Helen Frankenthaler. I vividly remember seeing photos of her pouring paint onto a massive canvas that stretched across the floor, and I was completely captivated. Her work instantly resonated with me, and I’ve been inspired by her ever since.

Helen’s innovative use of color, fluidity, and texture has taught me to embrace spontaneity in my own creative journey. The way she blends form and emotion with such grace is truly inspiring. She transformed the world of abstract expressionism, opening doors for artists like myself to explore new and exciting ways of expressing ourselves. Helen was the epitome of inspiration.

Question 5

For years I’ve theorized that there is a huge connection between Abstract Expressionism and Graffiti. Both movements got their start in New York City less than a generation apart. Both movements employ large-scale mural-size painting that utilizes all-around compositions and gestural techniques that explore the entirety of their surfaces, providing no single focal point. Both movements attract very specific personality types and backgrounds. Being a New Yorker who has engaged both in Graffiti and fine art styles reminiscent of Abstract Expressionism (and Color Field Painting), do you feel that there is a strong connection between the two movements?

Answer 5

To the extent that the abstract expressionists (De Kooning etc.) are spontaneous, automatic, or subconscious creation, yes. But in general NO, Graffiti has its own lineage—deep roots from hip-hop, neighborhood affiliations, NYC, and it’s a letter-based art form. I find them to be quite different.

Question 6

For your exhibition “HOME” at 111 Minna Gallery, you chose the concept of “home” as the overall theme of your work. This theme comes from you making a home wherever you resided as a child during your many changes of location. This also applies to a similar lifestyle that you have with your children as a young mother raising them. You had mentioned the artists you chose to collaborate with on this project bring a sense of safety and home wherever they go. The exhibition itself has a full installation of a living room that you and your collaborators created; there clearly is the sense of “home” throughout both our 2nd Street and Zappa Galleries. This is your second solo gallery exhibition, and I’m assuming that you plan on doing a third. If you were to choose a theme that your next exhibition revolved around, what would it be and why?

Answer 6

This is a great question!! I have NO idea. It comes as I paint for a show—the first one I self-titled “LADY MAGS” because it was like me coming out as an artist for the first time publicly. I titled my second and current solo exhibition “HOME” because the concept of “HOME” resonated with me. I wonder what would come up if I got the chance to do another!

See Lady Mags’ show HOME at 111 Minna Gallery