Ellis Gallagher is known primarily for chalk drawings made by outlining shadows in New York City. Gallagher was born on September 9, 1973. He is a native New Yorker living in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. Before his chalk drawings he was a graffiti writer, working in NYC mostly. He was arrested for this in 1999 and given community service and probation. He stopped doing traditional graffiti writing in 2001 after the death of Hector Ramirez (a friend and writing partner), who was hit by a train while painting in a Brooklyn subway tunnel. Gallagher started his chalk drawing in early 2005, the first drawing being an outline of a fire hydrant after days of being fixated with shadows.
Gallagher's chalk work are outlines of common objects on the street (mailboxes, fire hydrants, lampposts, etc.) and often outline simple solid shadows, but they also included bicycles, wire mesh garbage cans, fencing etc. leaving a complex pattern behind. The longest one of his works has lasted is a month, but they usually disappear earlier because of rain. However, Gallagher signs and photographs each work, making the art work the drawing, the performance, and the photograph itself.
Gallagher was once arrested for drawing and signing his name in chalk. Charges were dropped, but he spent 17 hours in jail for which he is suing the city, claiming false arrest and unlawful imprisonment. Paul Hale, Gallagher's lawyer, claims using chalk on the sidewalk is perfectly legal. Despite the legal ambiguities, his work is perceived in the genre of modern graffiti, or "Street Art."
His work can be found in New York City and beyond. Photos can be seen in Autograf: New York City's Graffiti Writers by Peter Sutherland (Powerhouse Books), as well as in newspapers, magazines, on television and in films. Currently a Contemporary Artist and Street Artist, Gallagher's work has appeared on the cover of Time Out New York, in the New York Daily News, The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Village Voice, The Brooklyn Paper, Mass Appeal Magazine, Artnet Magazine, Der Spiegel Germany, The Area Revue France, H Magazine Spain, as well as on NY 1, RAI TV Italy, Chinese News Network, NYCTV, The Hallmark Channel, Current T.V., WPIX 11 (NYC), NBC 4 (NYC) and WNET 13 PBS(NYC).
Gallagher will publish his first book "Adhesives," the ultimate compendium of graffiti, graphic design and street art stickers with Miss Rosen Editions for Powerhouse Books.
|
||||||||||||||||