The Allen Boys 1982

Lee Quinones made "The Allen Boys" with spray paint on a brick wall. The beauty of graffiti lies in its impermanence. Each tag and throw-up is a gesture in a much bigger conversation played out in the urban landscape. There's a real tension here, between the planned and the accidental. The way the brick shows through some of the colors, it's not like he's trying to hide the surface, but to engage with it, and build on it. It's all about the gesture, the layering and the push-and-pull of colors and forms that collide on the brick like an organized car crash. Just look at the 'S' in 'Boys', how the blue fades and bleeds, creating depth and movement. It's a testament to the process, a record of action, a moment captured. Like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Quinones creates a language of rebellion, a dialogue with the city, scrawling across the walls, making the streets their canvas. It's a constant push and pull; each viewer brings their own associations to the work.