Al Diaz, Transatlantication at D’Stazzi, Shoreditch, East London, 25th September 2026 – Well what to make of Al Diaz and his first ever formal art exhibition over here in the UK? I guess he is some kind of New York City legend, a cult figure, or at least Samo is, or Samo are or maybe Samo were? A thing? A duo? Same old? Well no, not same old shit, he has it now as same old endless possibilities or… The legend of those Samo tags, or should it be typed as Samo©? I mean, it must have been exciting in the 70s as New York’s hip hop was emerging alongside the sounds of Richard Hell, the Ramones, Television, The Dictators and the rest of them, emerging as Graff on a train started to be a (serious) thing and tags started to appear or at least register in the consciousness of those who kept an eye out for those kind of things: “From the streets of 1970s New York and the emergence of Samo© to later experiments with discarded subway signage, words have remained at the centre of Diaz’s practice.” I guess the the sides of trains things predates Samo by a year or two but it is where they were, who they were…
I was a teenage Warhol fan, his ‘brand’ seemed exciting as a fourteen year old, all that pop art colour, I lapped it all up and at the same time, all that graff that we were starting to get hints of, those whole car pieces on trains, what! Really? They actually did that? Back there the streets looked like reality, art galleries seemed like mouldy old places, uninviting, not for the likes of me, Warhol, the Factory, Velvet Underground looked inviting, it looked excitimng.and by default, later on Jean-Michel Basquiat, the stories of him selling of those postcards, the whole Samo legend and the rest of it. Yes, I was more than up for a slice of this, a slice of this history and all the Diaz and Basquiat working together that went on back there, the mysterious slogans, the tag when no one had any idea who they, Samo, were.
We know about Jean-Michel Basquiat now, we really don’t know that much about Al Diaz and what happened to him, the occasional brief mention here and there and not much more than that. Do like that new piece under the bridge in Shoreditch, in Drysdale Street, the bold simplicity of those marks, the confidence of that mark making, the decisions made, the understated colour, not sure about the statement itself, I mean the actual words. I guess when no one knew what or who Samo© was back there then it all meant something more, the mystery of it, the audacity, but here, almost fifty years later, in the cold light of late September 2026 does it really mean that much? Do like the piece though, do like the shape of those letters, do like just seeing it there, the Samo© tag that you know is authentic, the real thing, seeing that wall is a bit of goosebump moment and yes, I was up for a slice of this…
Hit the gallery early, avoid the crowds although people are already here, familiar street art faces chatting in the bar, collectors and all their hoopla; “just flown back from Venice, blah blah blah…” Al Diaz seems like a nice enough guy, happy to talk, answer questions, down to earth, no ego. Not sure what I was really expecting tonight, I tried avoid looking on line that much, avoided the previews as much as I could. Actually, I didn’t really tune into the clothing range launch that was taking up part of the gallery space, I guess hand customised t-shirts and such will excite some, and guess the Samo© brand really is on the the way if you want it?
“Transatlantication brings that language across the Atlantic. Text, collage, stencil, painting and clothing connect through the visual language of the city”
– I don’t know, the art, in here, in the cold artificial environment of the gallery, it isn’t really connecting. Does it all look and feel a little forced? A touch fish out of water? I mean, there’s red stickers, the collectors are buying in, those relatively big canvases aren’t really doing it for me though, the slogans aren’t really hitting, the famed satirical wordery, the poetry of it all isn’t quite flowing and you do start to think about those “Samo© is dead” declarations the duo painted across lower Manhattan somewhere around 1980? That declaration of it all being done and dusted as Mr Basquiat transitioned to his renowned canvas and gallery career. You might argue that Al Diaz deserves a slice of his own pie, a slice of his brand and why not? it is the nature of the game now, they’re selling obey giant wigs in Woolworths these days…
That wall under the railway bridge though, that wall feels like a strong positive, that wall feels like the real deal, proper. Really not sure about the rest of it, not sure what I was expecting? It is kind of what D’Stazzi do as a gallery, bringing over these old legends, it is all they really do as a gallery and good luck to ’em I guess but does it ever really work? Is it like seeing one of those old bands you once loved who don’t have many of the original members left and can’t really pull it off any more, are they just trading on their past? Those slogans and that tag were (rather obviously) all about the mystery and the truth is there’s very little of that mystery in here (and how could there be?). No mystery here in the rather cheesy corporate red-rope-outside and the big glossy info panels inside, no real mystery or challenge on the white walls of the gallery. Do go see that piece under the bridge though, that is the real thing, that’s a slice of something special, a bit more than just street art/graff history, go see it before some clueless idiot paints his half-arsed half-formed tag over it… (sw)
D’Stassi Art is found around a corner in Shoreditch, the gallery entrance is found on Drysdale St, the actual address is 12-18 Hoxton St, London N1 6NG. They are at best vague about how long the exhibition is on for, they really are all about their opening nights…
As always, click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show…
