A&A Interior Gallery in Porto Montenegro is pleased to present Luxury Vandalism. Death NYC: the art remix lab, a monographic exhibition featuring the works of renowned New York street artist Death NYC. The exhibition offers a deep dive into the mechanisms of visual perception, consumer identity, and the boundaries of contemporary art.
Luxury Vandalism brings together a seminal collection of Death NYC’s works at the intersection of neo-pop art and street culture. Building upon the legacy of 1960s pop art, Death NYC goes beyond mere repetition of commercial imagery. By directly confronting iconic classical masterpieces with high-fashion logos (such as Louis Vuitton and Rolex) and contemporary art tropes, the artist dissects the condition of modern culture—where art is increasingly emptied of content and marketed like mass-market goods.
"Death NYC does not simply create vivid posters; she engages the viewer’s consciousness through the lens of postmodernist theory," notes curator Anastasia Degtiareva. "Through irony, her work challenges the global art market’s inflation of value and exposes how consumer society transforms great art into 'visual chewing gum' while commercial brands assume the status of modern religion."
The exhibition also highlights the artist’s anti-establishment ethos and existential philosophy. Choosing to offer her work through accessible prints and public street art, Death NYC counters mainstream art-market exclusivity. Her pseudonym - an acronym for 'Don’t Easily Abandon The Hope' - interplays with her tagline 'Death Is Free', offering an existential manifesto of hope, independent thought, and spiritual freedom in a world governed by commercial and political manipulation.
Curator – Anastasia Degtiareva
About the author
Death NYC is a New York street artist who challenges mainstream culture through provocative work that invites the viewer to question what they see.. She has made a name for herself with a bold approach to contemporary art, and her eclectic style has been strongly shaped by growing up in New York’s multicultural environment. This experience gave rise to her pseudonym, an acronym for ‘Don’t Easily Abandon The Hope’. Anonymity has given her the freedom to transform the urban landscape, particularly in the iconic neighbourhoods of SoHo and Chelsea, where she began applying her designs to the walls and floors of upmarket retail spaces, merging street art with the city’s commercial and cultural life.
In 2024 Death NYC caused a sensation by releasing archival prints on fine-art watercolour paper, in an edition limited to 100 copies each. The series featured some of her signature works – Kobe Bryant, Snoopy, Marilyn/Kusama, Rolex Oyster Perpetual and Wall St – which combine pop imagery with incisive cultural criticism. Highly prized for their exclusivity, the prints clearly demonstrate her ability to bridge the gap between commerce and fine art.
Death NYC’s art offers a caustic commentary on mass culture, distorting media imagery to challenge social expectations. Her work frequently features ironic remixes of familiar symbols – for example, a portrait of Mao Zedong with a pink bow and lipstick, which undermines the very idea of absolute power. Through her street art and her famous slogan ‘Death Is Free’, she exposes consumer society, the tyranny of the mass media and the suppression of individuality. This distinctive approach has earned her international recognition, a devoted following and a unique place in the history of contemporary street art.
