Untitled 'Duel'

Duel RIS (aka Duel, b. 1970’s, NYC, USA) Untitled ‘DUEL’ (2013) Acrylic and aerosol paint on canvas board, hand signed and dated in the image by the graffiti artist, measures 10.5 x 13.5 inches, and with mat and frame, the work of art is 16.5 x 19.5 inches. (Not examined outside the frame.) Predominantly colored green and red, the image reflects “The Big Apple”, as indicated by the NYCity tag at the top. Also notable are the copyright symbol in the lower right, and the attribution to Duel’s RIS graffiti crew.

DUEL was exposed to art at an early age because his mother was a fine arts teacher, painter, and sculptress. He began writing graffiti in the local streets, parks, and handball courts in 1984 and took on the name, Duel, in 1986, while moving on to rooftops, subways, trucks, and highways (reasoning that half of New Yorkers drove cars rather than ride the subways.) After admittedly taking a wrong path in life, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines to further his goal of straightening out. After three deployments, Duel returned to NYC and creating art – in studio, on subway signs, street signs, and metro maps, among other media. He has been a member of highly respected graffiti crews, including RIS, and has been quoted as saying, “My art is influenced by many cultures from my travels. I combined them all to symbolize unity and promote world peace.”