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Graffiti Exhibit Brings 'Hardcore Vandalism' to Smith Street

 A new art exhibit in Boerum Hill will feature graffiti-based style writing from about 12 artists this month.
Timebomb: Three Decades of Style Writing
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BOERUM HILL — A graffiti exhibition with “hardcore vandalism” and stylized urban writing will be displayed for the first time this month at a Smith Street gallery.

TIMEBOMB: Three Decades of Style Writing” brings together a dozen artists from different genres of graffiti spanning 30 years at the Urban Folk Art Gallery, located at 101 Smith St.

The exhibit opens on July 25 and runs till Aug. 1.

Original paintings and prints displayed at the gallery will celebrate subgenres within the art form, from “hardcore vandalism” to “piecing,” a style that involves more elaborate details, color and composition.

“You can see an obvious progression from back in the day to now,” said Andrea von Budjoss, the show’s curator, who is a graphic designer and fine artist.

Each "TIMEBOMB" artist will show new pieces of work, including Budjoss, whose “piecing” will also be on display. She recently began her graffiti career under the tag “Queen Andrea," while ther artists in the exhibition have been working since the '70s. 

In hardcore vandalism — the style of artists like Easy and Duel — each piece focuses on the artist’s tag and is advanced by prolifically spreading that name through an urban environment, Budjoss explained.

“These people are like living legends,” she said. “Not everyone is willing to take that risk.”

“Piecing” focuses on style writing, letterform, color, design and even adding characters to the script. For example, Queen Andrea’s “whimsical letter explorations” use popular phrases and hip-hop lyrics, according to a statement from the gallery.

This is the first "TIMEBOMB" show, and Budjoss hopes to take it across the country and the world. The prints will be priced from $150 to $200, and original paintings are priced from $700 to $3,000.

“When their work sits next to each other, you see how they influenced each other,” she said. “Each artist strengthens the other one.”

TIMEBOMB: Three Decades of Style Writing will open July 25 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Urban Folk Art, 101 Smith St.