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COPE2 : three new paintings between the Bronx, graffiti, and the New York subway
Three new original works by COPE2 join Gallery 125: two canvas paintings from the series Bronx Legend and a work created on an authentic New York subway map.
With "Bronx Legend 2", "Bronx Legend 3", and "New York Subway Map 09", we immediately find ourselves in the universe of the American artist: explosive colors, dynamic lines, lettering, and direct references to New York's graffiti culture.
Three works that mainly allow to discover the work of COPE2 on two very different mediums: canvas, a traditional support of contemporary art, and the subway map, closely linked to the history of New York graffiti.
COPE2, a historical figure in New York City graffiti
Originally from the Bronx in New York, COPE2 belongs to the history of American graffiti.
His work was built in the New York urban environment, in contact with the walls, streets, and subway culture that played an essential role in the development of graffiti in New York.
Over the years, his name and his writing have become inseparable from his artistic identity. Tags, throw-ups, lettering, and colorful compositions make up a graphic vocabulary that he gradually transfers onto various media.
Today, the work of COPE2 is located at the intersection of historical graffiti, and the Street Art and contemporary art, while maintaining a very strong connection with its New York origins.
From the Bronx to Grand Theft Auto IV
The influence of COPE2 It goes far beyond the walls of the Bronx and the world of galleries. His work has also integrated popular culture and the world of video games.
COPE2 is notably one of the graffiti artists whose work appears in Grand Theft Auto IV, the famous game by Rockstar Games released in 2008. The artist is officially credited among the graffiti artists in the game.
In the streets of Liberty City, a fictional city directly inspired by New York, one can find graffiti associated with COPE2 and its famous COPE lettering.
This presence in GTA IV is particularly consistent with his background: the game's universe is largely inspired by New York urban culture, with graffiti being an essential component.
COPE2 also appears in the video game Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, entirely dedicated to graffiti culture.
From the culture of the New York subway to the virtual walls of GTA, and then from the streets to contemporary art galleries, COPE2 thus contributed to bringing the aesthetics of New York graffiti into a much broader culture.
"Bronx Legend 2": the energy of graffiti transposed onto canvas
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With "Bronx Legend 2", released in 2025, COPE2 Develop a particularly dense and colorful composition.
The shapes overlap in a palette dominated by blue, turquoise, pink, orange, and black. Some lines directly evoke the spontaneity of graffiti, while other, more geometric shapes, structure the whole.
The number 2, immediately visible in the upper part, also serves as a clear reminder of the artist's name.
This original acrylic painting on canvas measures 63 × 54 cm. It is signed and dated on the back.
The artwork is presented in a black American box frame, bringing its total dimensions to 70 × 61 cm. The black frame particularly emphasizes the bold colors of the composition.
"Bronx Legend 3": a more airy composition
Also released in 2025, "Bronx Legend 3" incorporates some of the graphic vocabulary from Bronx Legend 2, but in a different composition.
On this square canvas measuring 60 × 60 cm, COPE2 let the shapes breathe more. Blue plays an important role and serves as a background for the various patterns in pink, green, black, white, and orange.
Once again, we find the number 2, accompanied by lines and shapes that seem to float or intersect on the surface of the canvas.
This juxtaposition gives the work a constant movement and recalls the spontaneity of the gesture typical of graffiti and urban painting.
Bronx Legend 3 It is an original acrylic painting on canvas, signed and dated on the back. It is sold framed in a black shadow box frame measuring 67 × 67 cm.
"Bronx Legend": a title that directly refers to the roots of. COPE2
The choice of the title "Bronx Legend" naturally takes on a particular dimension when associated with COPE2.
The Bronx plays a fundamental role in their journey, and more broadly, in the history of hip-hop culture and New York graffiti.
With these two paintings, the artist transposes onto canvas a visual language originally developed in the street. The colors, lines, and graphic signs become the elements of a contemporary painting while retaining the energy of urban culture.
Presented together, Bronx Legend 2 Sorry, but the text you provided is incomplete. Could you please provide more context or the full text for translation? Bronx Legend 3 work particularly well: they share the same color palette while offering two independent compositions.
"New York Subway Map 09": painting directly on a map of the New York City subway system
The third work brings us even more directly back to New York.
Created in 2026, "New York Subway Map 09" is an original painting executed on an authentic New York subway map measuring 82.5 × 58 cm.
COPE2 Here, a mixed technique is used, combining acrylic paint and spray paint.
Contrary to the two paintings Bronx Legend, Therefore, the support is directly part of the work.
The lines, stations, and geographical indications of the New York network remain visible under certain parts of the painting. They blend in with the tags, colors, and various gestures added by the artist.
The metro map, a symbolic medium in the history of graffiti
The choice of a New York subway map is obviously not insignificant for an artist from the graffiti culture.
The New York City railway network is closely linked to the history of graffiti in the 1970s and 1980s. Subway cars became one of the iconic mediums used by writers to spread their signatures and paintings throughout the city.
Working today on a real New York Subway Map, COPE2 thus creating an immediate connection between his contemporary work and this history.
The map is no longer just a background: its lines and typography become elements of the composition.
Tags, colors, and accumulation: the graphic universe of COPE2
In Carte du métro de New York 09, The composition is intentionally more raw than in the two paintings.
The inscriptions overlap. The colors seem to have been applied successively as they could be on an urban wall covered over time.
We also distinguish "Bronx" and "NYC", two references that immediately place the work in its New York environment.
This accumulation of paint, signs, and tags contrasts with the precision of the printed plan located underneath.
It is precisely this encounter between a real object from New York and the artist's personal graphic language. COPE2 who gives the work its character.
From the street to the gallery: COPE2 between graffiti and Street Art
These three new paintings also allow us to observe the evolution of graffiti as it leaves the urban space to enter collections.
On the two canvases Bronx Legend, , COPE2 adapts its vocabulary to a traditional medium. With Carte du métro de New York 09, on the contrary, it maintains a support directly associated with the city and its history.
In both cases, the identity of New York graffiti remains very present.
COPE2 belongs to those artists who have helped create bridges between graffiti, street art, hip-hop culture, and contemporary art.
Three new original works by COPE2 at Gallery 125
Gallery 125 is now presenting these three new original artworks by COPE2 I'm sorry, but it seems like your message is incomplete. Can you please provide the text you would like me to translate from French to English?
"Bronx Legend 2", acrylic painting on canvas measuring 63 × 54 cm created in 2025 and presented in a black shadow box frame; "Bronx Legend 3", acrylic on canvas measuring 60 × 60 cm created in 2025 and also framed; and "New York Subway Map 09", mixed media on an authentic New York subway map measuring 82.5 × 58 cm, created in 2026.
Three creations that bring together several essential elements of the universe COPE2 New York, the Bronx, graffiti, the subway, Street Art, and contemporary painting.
These three original works of art COPE2 are available at Gallery 125. Click HERE.