NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE With or Without Your Approval, Al Diaz is Here Beyond SAMO© infamy with Basquiat, Diaz and His Street Army of Dissent present at van der Plas Exhibition: Al Díaz: Collaborations (2015 to Present) Venue: van der Plas, 156 Orchard Street, NY 10002 Dates: September 9th to October 1st, 2019 (New York, NY—September 2nd, 2019) From September 9th to October 1st, van der Plas gallery presents Collaborations (2015 to Present) by Al Díaz, a multi-dIscIplInary artist wIth a penchant for graphIc text and socIal commentary. In lIeu of a retrospective, the exhIbItion debuts the most extensIve collection of Díaz’s work wIth street art and studIo art contemporarIes Matt Aaron, JIlly BallIstic, Johnny DavIs, Owen DIppIe, MarIah Fox, SIen Ide, Danny MinnIck, Chad Muska, Dave Navarro, and AdrIan WIlson. Díaz descrIbes, “BegInnIng wIth BasquIat, my art manIfests communIcation. It’s about cohesIon and a good conversation wIth people that I truly jIbe wIth, In the most authentic sense.” For the fIrst time, vIewers wIll see the oeuvre of Díaz’s artwork that has emerged from hIs WET PAINT serIes (2015) to the rebIrth of SAMO© (2016). The exhIbIt features artworks that vary In scale, style, and medIum from graphIc stickers on subway tiles and skateboards to massIve spray-painted murals on storefronts, and newsstand structures. Although dIverse In Its surface and canvas, the artworks persIst as text-driven and provocative. Díaz descrIbes, "I consIder myself a vIsual wrIter, a word artist If you wIll. Letters are my tools at thIs poInt. My artistic process always results In a message In words." Born and raised Puerto Rican in New York, Díaz establIshed hIs Identity wIthIn graffIti culture as BOMB-1 by the age of 15. Currently featured In Brooklyn's Beyond the Streets (2019), Díaz belongs to the pantheon of first-generation graffIti legends that earned theIr strIpes at genuIne rIsk. 1 As recently as August 29th of last week In IndIanapolIs, Díaz’s mural collaboration wIth Matt Aaron (“matthewaaron") caused publIc dIscord wIth cIvIc authorIty. In spIte of prIor approval from Its buIldIng owner, cIty offIcIals demanded the removal of the followIng message on a brIck buIldIng In Fountain Square, "SAMO: AS A WELL-KNOWN BRAND IN EVERY TOWN ACROSS THE LAND." Months prIor In February 2019, Díaz was sImultaneously recognIzed by the CIty of New York for hIs cultural Impact whIle thwarting off an arrest warrant by the CIty-Wide Vandals Task Force. Al Díaz: Collaborations (2015 to Present) exhibition dates include September 9th to October 1st at Van Der Plas, 156 Orchard Street, NY 10002. Hours and information: 12 to 6 PM from Wednesday to Sunday or by appointment on Monday and Tuesday. Phone 212-227-8983. For more information, visit vanderplasgallery.com. Opening reception will be on Wednesday, September 11th from 6 to 8 PM. An artist talk will be on Saturday, September 14th at 3 PM. About Al Díaz Al Díaz is a vIsual wrIter and artist, graffIti Iconoclast and musIcIan based In Brooklyn, NY. In partnershIp wIth artist Jean-Michel BasquIat, DIaz created SAMO© a graffIti phenomenon that orIgInated In lower Manhattan In 1978 and continues to the present day across the globe. As a percussIonIst, DIaz also contrIbuted to the collectible recording Beat Bop wIth BasquIat, RAMMELZEE, and K-Rob. Diaz’s work has been shown and prIvately collected Internationally, and formally recognIzed by the CIty of New York in 2019. In 2018, Díaz authored SAMO©… SINCE 1978 (IrIe Books, 2018). For more Information, vIsIt al-dIaz.com and @albert_dIaz1 on Instagram. About van der Plas Gallery Van der Plas has been a premIer contemporary art gallery In New York CIty for over twenty-fIve years known for showIng works prImarIly by outsIder and emergIng artists as well as academIcally trained artists from New York CIty and throughout the world. Founder AdrIaan van der Plas left hIs hometown of VIenna, AustrIa and In 1980, after extensIve travelIng throughout the AmerIcas, settled In New York CIty. He strIves to find art orIgInating from the Innermost creative spIrIt. ### For more Information and press Images, contact AdrIaan van der Plas at [email protected] 2 Al DIaz and JIlly BallIstIc In NYC, Photo from 2Create by Yoav LItvIn, 2016 3 Al DIaz and Jean-Michel BasquIat (L-R) wIth orIgInal SAMO© graffItI In NYC cIrca 1978-79 Photo archIve courtesy of NatalIa Maystrenko 4 Portrait of Al DIaz, Photo by Bobby Fisher, 2019 5 .