FUTURA 2000 X POPOLIFE “JOHNNY 10″art figure X COA

Futura 2000 (American, born in Brooklyn in 1955), the pseudonym of Lenny McGurr, is a graffiti artist famous for his abstract approaches to Street Art. In the early 1970s, as a teenager, he began painting in the subway and during his career he was associated with the 3YB, CIA, FBI, Interpol and KGB groups. While other graffiti artists of the 1970s and 1980s focused on lettering, Futura 2000 presented a unique abstract style. In the 1980s, he began working on canvases and exhibited alongside American artists such as Keith Haring (1958-1990), Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) and Kenny Scharf (born in 1958).

In 1981, he painted the stage backdrops for the Clash’s European tour, designed the cover for their single This Is Radio Clash and in 1982, he hand-wrote the liner notes and lyric sheets for their album Combat Rock. He continues to tour with the band and spray paints backdrops during concerts. More recently, Futura 2000 uses its artistic talents in advertising and graphics. He works with companies like Nike, Recon and Medicom Toy and designs clothing for his label Futura Laboratories. His work is exhibited at MoMA PS1 in New York, the Grotinger Museum in the Netherlands and the Galerie Du Jour in Paris. He lives and works in New York.