Combining classical training with the intense creative energy of graffiti, DISTORT (@distoart) has impacted the streets and galleries alike. Now living in Jersey City, DISTORT earned a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania and a Certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Following this period, DISTORT developed a body of work combining sculptural installation and painting. In 2016 presented these now-iconic “scrolls” and “shields” in a solo exhibition at the Works on Paper Gallery in Philadelphia. DISTORT has exhibited extensively in the Tristate Area, and completed murals in Miami, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York as well as locations across North Jersey. His most recent project, located just outside of the Holland Tunnel, is the largest mural by a single artist in New Jersey. DISTORT continues to create challenging work inspired by his admiration of classicism and the intensity of the present.
Joshua Pacheco, also known as OPTIMONYC or WERDSMOKER is a native New York artist from Chelsea, once a tough neighborhood, now home to the now frequently visited HighLine and high end art galleries. OPTIMO’s passion for art was ignited by the graffiti in the parking lots of his neighborhood, the colorful graffiti-dominant trains, trucks, & handball courts of the mid-1980s. He began writing graffiti in 1989 at the tender age of twelve, around the same time he started skateboarding. For most of the 90’s, OPTIMO was a menace to society, skating, rollerblading, meeting and engaging with graffiti artists throughout the city who exposed him to a variety of styles. After years of graffiti, commissions, and everything in between, OPTIMO decided to become a full time artist, selling his works in the streets of SoHo in early 2010, garnering much interest from international tourists.
OPTIMO’s work is greatly inspired by his experiences and his surroundings, where his feeling are expressed with brief embedded poetic quotes. He dances with his own mediums on the surfaces of the streets, figuring out how he may fit into any particular space. Painting on public walls allows OPTIMO to freely expose his work and empowers him to create his own landmarks throughout the city. The streets have a special significance to OPTIMO’s art: the exposure is limitless, giving him a chance to communicate with the general public. This consideration is what brought about OPTIMO’s signature character, a character which was created after a life changing experience, and represents his drive to make insightful decisions in his life and spread positive messages. OPTIMO’s characters are mostly painted with a top hat and bandana to extend messages and express spontaneous feelings through words.
In 2020, OPTIMO collaborated with Diesel Jeans, helping the international clothing brand to reclaim their storefront in New York City. OPTIMO has participated in over 50 exhibitions, from New York to Miami, frequently a participating artist at Miami Art Basel since 2011. OPTIMO has painted live for many events, from clubs and dinners to working with children teaching them about the craft of graffiti and street art. To date, OPTIMO has painted over one hundred box trucks, hundreds of doors, reclaiming many of them over & over again, as one of today’s most recognizable graffiti artists in New York City.
