Rammellzee biography

Rammellzee was an enigma – a figure seemingly drawn from another time to transform the present. Though he was an important figure within New York’s eighties hip-hop scene, Rammellzee considered himself to be a gothic futurist of the European tradition. Early on in his career, he made the decision to shed himself of his given name and identify with the algebraic equation RAMM:ΣLL:ZΣΣ. Citing past gothic philosophers, he theorised that the Indo-Germanic language tree has been used as a tool of oppression and warfare. Detailed in his treatise Iconic treatise Gothic Futurism, Rammellzee proposed that the alphabet needed to undergo an iconoclasm, to prevent the destruction of humanity. The artist's radical theories about graffiti became the impetus for the creation of his artwork.

Growing up near the Mott Avenue terminal in Queens, New York, Rammellzee began to tag the A train, immersing himself in the Wild Style scene. This began his venture into ‘weapon-slaving’ letters, or arming them for battle in the world of language. After experimenting with various career paths including dentistry and oil rigging, he settled into life as an artist at the Battle Station, a live-in studio space in TriBeCa. The Battle Station was frequented by artists, including friend and collaborator Jean-Michel Basquiat. Preferring to work in seclusion Rammellzee rarely left the Battle Station – when he did leave he would emerge as one of his costume characters, or ‘Garbage Gods’. These kabuki-like costumes were understood by him to be suits of armour, constructed with detritus from the streets of New York.

Within the Battle Station Rammellzee was a prolific creator, working mainly in bricolage using materials like paint, marble and trash. He also became well-known for creating two-dimensional artworks with spray paint and resins. Each artwork acted as a manifestation of his linguistic philosophies. Early supporters of his artwork include art dealer Larry Gagosian, French architect Alain-Dominique Gallizia and James Jebbia, founder of the streetwear brand Supreme.

Rammellzee also frequently collaborated with other artists to experiment with hip-hop music and performance. The single Beat Bop (1983) made in collaboration with rapper K-Rob and Basquiat remains the most valuable hip-hop record to date. Rammellzee occasionally performed with hip-hop group Death Comet Crew and released two solo albums in his lifetime. Notably, he was the first artist to collaborate with streetwear brand Supreme.

Rammellzee was included in few but significant exhibitions during his lifetime, only being celebrated in a limited manner within the US and Europe. These include Music is a Better Noise at MoMA PS1 (2006), and performances at the Whitney  and at Eigen + Art  New York. In 2010 Rammellzee passed away has a result to exposure to toxins used during the creation of his work.

Although Rammellzee consistently denied a connection between his work and Afro-Futurism during his lifetime, it has become highly influential within this movement and street art at large. He is now being recognised more widely and is being exhibited internationally. Despite this increased notoriety, Rammellzee is still as indefinable as ever - Funkmaster Bootsy Collins described him best as a ‘speck of magic galaxy dust from another time’.

Born in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, USA in 1960

Died in New York, USA, 2010

Selected Solo Exhibitions and Performances

2018 RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder, Red Bull Arts, New York

2012 Letter Racers, MoMA, New York

2012 The Rammellzee Galaxseum, Children’s Museum of Art, New York

2010 Rammellzee: The Equation, The Letter Racers, Suzanne Geiss Company, New York

2009 Gothic Futurism, Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zurich

2005 Bi-Conicals of Rammellzee Tour, Venice Biennale

1994 Rammellzee vs. Gen U One (Gen Atem) – Exercises in Self Presentation, Eigen + Art, New York

1986 Retrospective, Gemeentemuseum, Helmond, Netherlands

Selected Group Exhibitions

2018 Le Musée du Street Art et du Graffiti, L’Aérosol, Paris

2016 Graffiti Art, Tableaux de Légende, Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, Bordeaux

2016 Pressionnism, Graffiti Masterpieces on Canvas, Fort Canning Museum, Singapore

2015 Pressionnisme, de Bando à Basquiat, Pinacothèque de Paris

2014 City as Canvas: Graffiti Art from the Marin Wong Collection, Museum of the City of New York

2013 Abstract Mash-Up II: A Group Exhibition, Crown Point Press Gallery, San Francisco

2013 Graffiti, Thanks a Lot, Fun Gallery, New York

2013 Last of the Hollywood Africans: Toxic – Londonewcastle Project Space, London

2013 Tekens aan de Wand: Gögös/Graffiti Art, Museum Tongerlohuys, Roosendaal

2013 The Shadows Took Shape, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York

2013 Urban Art Biennale 2013, Völklingen

2013 White Petals Surround Your Yellow Heart, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania

2012 Brucennial 2012 – Harder. Betterer. Fasterer, New York

2012 God Save the Queen: Punk in the Netherlands 1977-1984, Centraal Museum, Utrecht

2012 Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art, Contemporary Art Museum Houston

2011 Art in the Streets, at MOCA LA, Los Angeles

2011 Graffiti, New York 80’s, Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, Paris

2011 L’Art du Graffiti: 40 ans de Pressionnisme, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco

2011 Perfect Man II, White Columns, New York

2011 The Aerosol Experience, Zieglerzwei, Zurich

2011 The Rudolf and Ute Scharpff Collection, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart

2010 Printin’, with Ellen Gallagher, MoMA, New York

2010 Street and Studio, Von Basquiat bis Séripop, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna

2010 Un Musée à Ciel Ouvert, Bâche Wagram, Paris

2009 Ramm:Ell:Zee, Galerie Ziegler, Zurich

2009 Subcultural Capital, Anonymous Gallery, New York

2009 Tag au Grand Palais, Grand Palais, Paris

2009 The New Yorkers, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen

2008 Calligraffiti – Codex, Halle de la Villette, Paris

2007 Futuro del Futurismo, Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy

2007 L’art modeste sous les bombes, Musée International des Arts Modestes, Sète, France

2006 Music is a Better Noise, MoMA PS1, Queens, New York

2006 Sound Zero, Kunst Meran, Meran, Italy

2004 Smile Away the Parties and Champagne - Zeen keuze uit de Collectie, Gemeentemuseum Helmond, Boscotondohal, Helmond

2002 Americas Remixed, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan

2002 Cowboys en kroegtijgers, Gemeentemuseum Helmond, Boscotondohal, Helmond

2001 Oostduitse meisjes en andere stukken, Gemeentemuseum Helmond, Boscotondohal

1998 Smile Away the Parties and Champagne, Gemeentemuseum Helmond, Boscotondohal, Helmond

1991 American Graffiti: A Survey, Liverpool Gallery, Brussels

1989 Hip Hop ‘til You Drop, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

1988 Comic Iconoclasm, Cornerhouse, Manchester, England

1985 Between Science and Fiction, Bienal de São Paulo

1985 Ikonoklast Panzerism, Galerie Renée Ziegler, Zurich

1984 Ein Anderes Klima – A Different Climate (II), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf

1984 Galozzi La Placa Gallery

1984 Graffiti, Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands

1984 New York Graffiti - Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark

1984 Rapid Enamel: The Art of Graffiti, Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago

1983 Graffiti, Thanks a Lot, Fun Gallery, New York

1983 Museum Boijmans, Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

1983 Post-Graffiti, Sydney Janis Gallery, New York

1982 New York, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London