Risk’s Old Habits Die Hard Monograph Out 7/16

1xRUN is pleased to present Old Habits Die Hard the definitive book on Los Angeles graffiti originator and icon RISK. With a career spanning over four decades RISK recounts his history, failures, success and of course the many brushes with the law.

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Over 350 pages and 700+ photos, many never-before-seen, Old Habits Die Hard helps navigate through the story of Los Angeles graffiti and how it was shaped. From the very early 80s to present-day, RISK has not slowed down but instead has continued to evolve, remaining at the forefront of the culture. Over the years, many graffiti writers and street artists have come and gone, but RISK has established that he is here to stay through his constant progression and his willingness to stay true to his art.

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This book narrates his role as one of the pioneers of graffiti in Los Angeles and his aim to not only push the boundaries of his own art but also help elevate the graffiti movement to worldwide recognition.

Read stories about climbing and painting one of the first LA freeway signs later dubbed Heavens, painting the set of a Michael Jackson video, getting shot at in the infamous Motor Yard, to painting backgrounds for Playboy magazine shoots. The many stories and events that encompass the journey of RISK are impressive and inspiring, fully illustrating his extraordinary ambition.

Born as Kelly Graval, the multi-talented Fine Artist, Illustrator, and Graffiti artist better known as RISK, has been synonymous with the Los Angeles art community for decades. With a career spanning 30 years, RISK has solidified his place in the history books as a world-renowned graffiti legend. He has come a long way since he pioneered the painting of freeway overpasses, signs and billboards, dubbed “heavens.” Although RISK loves aerosol art, he sees it as merely just one genre in his life’s work. From his days as a student at the USC School of Fine Arts to gallery and museum showings around the world; RISK has transformed from a street artist to a rising star in the contemporary art world.

Working with prolific writer and curator Roger Gastman, the duo culled through hundreds of never-before hundreds of photos in this comprehensive first edition of Risk’s massive career. Gastman has founded and published the pop culture magazines While You Were Sleeping and Swindle, with Shepard Fairey, as well as authoring more than two dozen art books including the landmark The History of American Graffiti (with Caleb Neelon; Harper Collins, 2011). Also in 2011, along with Jeffrey Deitch and Aaron Rose, he curated the blockbuster exhibition Art in the Streets at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

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Pick up one of the hand-painted multiples, serigraph prints, archival pigment prints + signed and monograph copies of Old Habits Die Hard.

-1xRUN