Mare 139

New York / USA

Artist Mare139 is one of the pioneers of New York subway writing. His graffiti lettering style evolved to metal sculptures and he is also known as a media artist for his creation of graffiti-related websites. His works are featured as a part of the opening of the URBAN NATION Museum in 2017. […]

Biography / Mare 139

Artist Mare139 is one of the pioneers of New York subway writing. His graffiti lettering style evolved to metal sculptures and he is also known as a media artist for his creation of graffiti-related websites. His works are featured as a part of the opening of the URBAN NATION Museum in 2017.

Carlos Rodriguez was born in 1965 and grew up in East Harlem, New York City, where he, under the pseudonym of MARE139, became part of the first subway graffiti artists during the 1970s and 1980s alongside other famous names like Dondi White or Kel First. With his passion for contemporary art, he brought graffiti style writing to another dimension creating metal sculptures from 1985, when he made his breakthrough with his ‘K’. His signature lettering style still forms the base for his sculptures, although he moved towards Futurism and Cubism in his later works. Mare139 is a lecturer and writer, too, is also responsible for the design of the Black Entertainment Television Award and was honoured for his work on the Style Wars website.