Crash (John Matos)

Crash, whose real name is John Matos, born in the Bronx in 1961, is one of the pioneers of the graffiti movement.

He began painting on New York subway trains at a very young age before gradually extending his practice to canvas. In 1983, he joined the Sidney Janis Gallery, a milestone in the contemporary art world's recognition of graffiti.

His works then entered international collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Crash gained wider visibility through several collaborations with Keith Haring, notably for the Peter Stuyvesant advertising campaign.

In France, he became known by taking part in the exhibition "5/5 Figuration libre, France-USA" at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris in 1984, alongside artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Combas, Hervé Di Rosa, Keith Haring, Tseng Kwong Chi and François Boisrond.

Crash draws on comics and the aesthetics of advertising, with bright colours, and in this way extends Pop Art. His work has helped move graffiti from the status of a subculture to that of a recognised form of contemporary art.