Opened: May 2021
James Monk aka RAS TERMS is a Miami-born spiritual street artist and graffiti pioneer who has been dedicated to his craft since the mid-1980s when he became one of the first street artists to paint the walls in the historic Wynwood Art District. Since his early entry into Miami’s street scene, Ras Terms has become one of the most highly respected artists by his peers within the community.
Ras Terms has studied and practiced many ancient traditions from Africa and South America including Rastafari, Yoruba, Alchemy, Kemetism, Santaria, Vodum and Hermetism. The works within this exhibition represent his expansion of his own form of art called “Ancient Futurism” that fuses the imagery and ideology of ancient traditions and cultures with a creative vision of the future and new age philosophies. The result is an incredibly diverse and dynamic body of work that transcends time, culture and the human condition. Ras Terms has created a landmark moment for the Museum as this is the first time an artist will be presenting digital artwork in the form of an NFT (“non-fungible token”) in one of our feature exhibitions.
Ras Terms has traveled across the world painting, exhibiting at major institutions like the Oakland Museum of Contemporary Art and the Smithsonian Institution, and earning his reputation as a master of letters and characters like his iconic “Street Angel” Character that can found on walls in countries around the globe.