Lady Pink, born Sandra Fabara (born 1964), is an Ecuadorian-born American
graffiti
Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
and
mural
A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' ...
artist, active in New York City.
Early life
Fabara was born in
Ambato, Ecuador in 1964, and moved to the
Astoria neighborhood of
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, New York when she was seven years old.
She grew up wanting to be an architect like her father.
She started her graffiti writing career in 1979 following the loss of a boyfriend. She exercised her grief by tagging her boyfriend's name across
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Lady Pink studied at the Manhattan
High School of Art and Design, where she was introduced to graffiti. During her senior year of school, she began to start exhibiting her work while balancing her personal life.
Name origin
Lady Pink was first given her name “Pink” by
Seen TC5.
The name was chosen for aesthetics because the name Pink is feminine and because she wanted other writers to know that she was a girl. Lady Pink also said that the letters appealed to her; the way the "L" kicked out and how the "I" was cute and could be dotted with a heart.
She started calling herself Lady Pink because of her love of historical romances,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, the Victorian period, and the aristocracy. She titled herself like royalty. She never wanted to tag her full name because she did not want to be associated with the Pink Lady, a woman in the club scene who sold pink cocaine.
Career
Early career
Her career as an artist started to take off after the 1980s, following the ''Graffiti Art Success for America'' show which invited graffiti artists to paint on the walls of the gallery.
In 1983, she played the leading role in the film ''
Wild Style,'' and was involved with a book entitled ''
Subway Art'' by
Martha Cooper and
Henry Chalfant.
During this time, she collaborated with
Jenny Holzer several times for an exhibition at
Fashion MODA. Her first solo show, "Femmes-Fatales," was in 1984, when she was 21, at the
Moore College of Art & Design in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
She has focused her career on using graffiti and murals as acts of rebellion and self-expression, and empowering women. As Lady Pink says, "It's not just a boys club. We have a sisterhood thing going." She was nicknamed the "first lady of graffiti," because she was one of the first women active in the early 1980s New York City subway graffiti subculture.
In 1980, she created the all-female graffiti crew Ladies of the Arts. Within a few years, Lady Pink began running with the graffiti crews TC5 (The Cool 5) and TPA (The Public Animals). From 1979 to 1985, Lady Pink painted
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
trains. She took a short hiatus in 1987 from painting outdoors. Then from 1993 to 1997 she worked on freight trains with her husband, SMITH (Roger Smith, formerly of the graffiti duo
Sane Smith).
In 1980, she was included in the landmark New York show "GAS: Graffiti Art Success" at
Fashion Moda, which traveled in a modified form downtown to
The New Museum of Contemporary Art.
Later career
Lady Pink's studio paintings often use themes of New York City Subway trains and
POP-surrealist cityscapes. Some of her pieces are in the collections of the
Whitney Museum of American Art, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, and the
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
in New York City, as well as the
Groningen Museum in the Netherlands.
Lady Pink now visits schools to teach students about the power of art and how it can serve as a medium for self-expression and community engagement. Each year she does a mural project with the students of
Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens.
Her mural, ''Pink'' (2007) work was one of the many murals destroyed at
5Pointz in
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, however in February 2018 the Brooklyn Supreme Court awarded each of the 45 artists for their destroyed work.
She was connected to her art and although the former owner of the building painted over the walls, she said she could still see the ghost of her mural.
Artwork
Paintings
*''
The Death of Graffiti'' (1982) - acrylic on canvas, Museum of the City of New York collection.
*''The Black Dude'' (1983) - spray enamel on canvas, in private collection.
*''China, One Child Only'' (1992) - spray enamel on canvas, in a private collection.
*''Brick Lady in Spray'' (1993) - spray enamel on canvas, in a private collection.
*''Queen Matilda'' (2007) - acrylic on canvas, in private collection.
*''Urban Decay'' (2008) - acrylic on canvas, in private collection.
Murals
*''Brick Woman'' - located in
Braddock, Pennsylvania.
*''9/11 Tribute'' (2001) - Painted one month after
September 11 as a tribute to the heroes involved, located in Queens, New York.
*''Pink'' (2007) - was located at
5Pointz, no longer exists.
*''Lady Liberty'' (2016) - located in Queens, New York.
Trains
*''John Lennon'' (1981) - The first half of the Subway train painted by Lady Pink and
Iz the Wiz as a tribute for
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
.
*''The Beatles'' (1981) - The second half of the Subway train painted by Lady Pink and
Iz the Wiz as a tribute for
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
.
*''Welcome to Heaven'' (1982) - A tribute for
Caine 1, a graffiti artist who was killed by a neighbor that mistook him for a burglar.
Personal life
She is married to another graffiti artist, SMITH (Roger Smith, formerly of the graffiti duo
Sane Smith), with whom she often collaborates on murals and commercial work.
She is bisexual.
References
External links
Lady Pink website (current)Lady Pink website (archived)Lady Pink's Smithsonian artist fileThe Lady Pink collectionat the
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
"Lady Pink and the Evolution of Street Art"from the NEA Arts Magazine (2013)
'Graffiti' Glittersat the Brooklyn Museum on
All Things Considered
''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
, NPR (2006)
Lady Pink in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art"this is Not a Game" Interview with Lady Pink by Nijla Mu'min (2019)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Pink
1964 births
Ecuadorian emigrants to the United States
Living people
21st-century American painters
21st-century American women painters
American graffiti artists
American LGBTQ artists
American women muralists
Artists from New York City
Bisexual artists
Ecuadorian muralists
High School of Art and Design alumni
Modern artists
Women graffiti artists