Miami's vibrant urban art scene was never the same after local teenage artist Crome emerged in the mid-1990s with a novel style accompanied by an unstoppable urge to write his name on every possible surface in all of South Florida. His 1999 nationally publicized legal battles, alongside his partner Crook, put Miami on the map as a hotbed for the rebellious artform that seemingly just couldn’t be stopped. Now, 25 years later, the Museum of Graffiti celebrates the artist for his contributions to graffiti art both in the streets and via his robust studio practice filled with color soaked abstract portraits of people encountered over decades spent painting in the streets. Crome’s works on canvas and paper show the artist’s perspective on real life encounters with the underbelly of society, inspired by his own journey navigating addiction, incarceration, and survival as an artist. "Guests of the exhibit can expect masterful paintings that communicate the artist’s raw emotion, a dedication to a life of art, and an honest perspective on life in an urban environment where people's dreams are often lost and free thinkers are rarely celebrated,” said Museum of Graffiti co-founder and curator Alan Ket. "Crome's paintings celebrate the marginalized and the fighters that inspire him to stay in the game as a working artist."
