Josh Franklin (born 1967), known as Stash, is an American

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

artist and graphic designer based in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Biography

Franklin was born in Long Island, New York in 1967. He grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, finding inspiration from a young age looking at illegal

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

art on the sides of the city's subway trains while on his way to school. Later in the early 1980s, Stash started painting trains alongside other artists such as Futura and ZEPHYR. He exhibited at age 17 with pop artists

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and later continued on as a successful

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

artist. He got the name Stash from the colloquial term "stashing", which equates to hiding things. Growing up in a very small home, Franklin felt the need to hide, or "stash" his most valued belongings from his brother. In 1989, he appeared as a graffiti artist in the feature film ''

Slaves of New York ''Slaves of New York'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama Merchant Ivory Productions film. Directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, it stars Bernadette Peters, Adam Coleman Howard, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt, Mercedes Ruehl, ...

''. By the 1990s, Franklin began collaborating on product designs with high-profile brands such as

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. I ...

, and more recently A Bathing Ape, Leica and Uniqlo. He still remains an active graphic designer to this day. Franklin also created two clothing brands and opened a sneaker shop: Subware, Recon, and Nort/Recon Sneaker shop.

Exhibitions

* 2009: ''Celeritas,'' SURU Gallery, Hollywood, group * 2011: ''Blue Brooklyn,'' Galerie Issue,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, solo * 2012: ''Brooklyn – Berlin,'' Galleri Jonas Kleerup, Stockholm, group * 2013: ''NW20 Exhibition,'' Bape Gallery,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, group * 2014: ''SPRAYED IN FULL,'' The Seventh Letter Flagship and Gallery,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, solo

References

External links

mrstash.co
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stash American graffiti artists Living people Artists from New York City 1967 births