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Brooklyn Gallery to Showcase Street Artist Behind Abe Lincoln Graffiti

By Leslie Albrecht | November 10, 2015 8:42am
 210 Gallery's debut show under its new owner will be a solo exhibit by Art Is Not A Crime, the artist who painted dozens of images of Abraham Lincoln around Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Gallery to Showcase Street Artist Behind Abe Lincoln Graffiti
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SUNSET PARK — The street artist who turned one of America's most beloved presidents into graffiti is getting a solo show at a Brooklyn gallery.

The artist known as AINAC, or Art Is Not A Crime, made headlines last year after painting Abraham Lincoln's distinctive visage on dozens of subway walls and highway overpasses from Bay Ridge to Red Hook.

On Nov. 19, AINAC's work will be shown in a more intimate setting at 210 Gallery on 24th Street and Fourth Avenue.

The gallery opened in 2008, then closed in June and the space was put up for rent. New owner Michael Victorovich took over in July and plans to specialize in showing street art.

The AINAC show will be the first under Victorovich, who's been renovating the tiny 500-square-foot gallery.

Victorovich said the public appetite for street art has exploded since Banksy's 2013 visit to New York and as New York street artist Alec Monopoly has gained notoriety.

"To me street art is almost like fine art at this point," Victorovich said. "There's so much more meaning to it than just graffiti. I support the creative freedom and the expression."

Though known as an outsider art form, street art by big names such as Banksy can generate hefty prices at gallery shows.

The AINAC show at 210 Gallery will feature prints of the Lincoln series and other works. Customers will also be able to buy AINAC T-shirts and hats.

Police hunted AINAC and arrested a suspect in January 2014, but later dismissed the charges, according to Sheepshead Bites. The Brooklyn District Attorney's office on Monday did not have any information on the 2014 arrest.

The opening reception for the AINAC show is Nov. 19 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the 210 Gallery at 210 24th St., near Fourth Avenue. To RSVP, click here.