WHOLECAR BY NIKOLAY SUPER 158

In the late 1960s mysterious graffiti writer TAKI 183 took New York City by storm. He worked as a messenger in New York City and left his name and street number on thousands of surfaces around the streets that he visited. In 1972, The New York Times published an article about him titled "Taki 183 Spawns Pen Pals". TAKI 183 is one of the most influential graffiti writers in its history. He inspired hundreds of followers including Joe 136, BARBARA 62, EEL 159, YANK 135 and LEO 136.

Graffiti writer and curator Nikolay (Kolya) Super 158 follows the traditions of classical New York graffiti culture and pop-art of the 1980s. He tries to preserve the original street art culture in the digital age. In the late XXth century Russian graffiti writers were not involved in collaborations with big brands. Their visual culture was not attractive to the art institutions or market. Super 158 entered the scene when graffiti was an integral part of hip-hop movement and artists used surfaces of suburban electric trains as a background for their tags. Most of his works are based on repetition of his tag "Super" in different forms and contexts. As a curator, he linked three generations of graffiti writers in the "Generations" exhibition at the first Russian Street Art Museum. The artist's wholecar from Saint Petersburg is the first Rare Wall available at Urban Files and the only Rare Wall in Early Mints inaugural set.