George Ibanez

Who is George Ibanez?

George “Crime79” Ibañez is a famous New York City-based graffiti artist. He was introduced to graffiti art while attending Franklin K. Lane High School and began painting subways at age 13 in the East New York section of Brooklyn. While continuing with his subway art, Ibañez was named Class Artist and received the Art Students League of New York Gold Medal. He then studied at the School of Visual Arts.

From 1977 to 1984, Crime79 painted numerous notable subway cars. A whole train with a memorable painted poem appears as the opening page to the “Graffiti Bible”, Subway Art by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant.

Crime79 was a member of a group called “Soul Artists” which were among the first to transition graffiti art from subways to legitimate galleries. Crime79’s first show of paintings was at the Rainbow Gallery in New York City’s SoHo District in 1983. His works were regarded as, “simply the best pieces in the show”. In 2009 two of his paintings were sold at the prestigious Millon & Associés Auction House in Paris, France.

In addition to paintings, Crime79 practices his art on intriguing projects in a variety of mediums, including: