COPE2 - Painting on New York subway map "New York Subway Map 10" 82x58cm - 2026

With New York Subway Map 10, COPE2 transforms an authentic map of the New York subway into a vibrant fragment of graffiti history. The choice of support is significant: the lines, stations, and neighborhood names remain visible under the successive layers of paint, directly linking the artwork to the geography of New York City. On this transformed map turned canvas, the artist showcases a particularly energetic composition, dominated by pinks, blues, purples, and oranges. In the center, a large stylized lettering imposes the culture of "writing," while tags, signatures, curves, and spontaneous interventions overlap to the edges. The paint never completely obscures the map: it engages in a dialogue with it. Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens still appear in places, as if the city's underground network formed the very framework of the composition. This juxtaposition of urban document and pictorial gesture gives the artwork a presence that a traditional medium could not provide.

Hailing from the Bronx, COPE2 belongs to that generation of artists who helped transition New York graffiti from trains and city walls to galleries and international collections. Active since the late 1970s, he has developed over the decades a distinct visual language based on tags, throw-ups, and intricate lettering. This painting on a subway map holds a special resonance: it physically connects his work to the territory where his artistic language was forged. The printed traces of the MTA network here meet the freedom of spray paint and the speed of markers, turning the map into a true urban palimpsest. New York Subway Map 10 doesn't just represent New York; it directly uses one of its iconic objects as a creative material. An original, rich artwork that is highly representative of COPE2's universe, blending graffiti memory, hip-hop culture, and the visual energy of the American metropolis.