“I go to sleep with a pizza on my chest"
Using collage to create what he calls “mutated characters” and “mutated scenes,” the Brooklyn-based street artist known as Bäst has been embellishing urban environments in New York and Europe with his wheat-pasted posters for more than 15 years. Inspired by early punk flyers, Bäst appropriates iconic images from 20th- and 21st-century mass culture, creating collages that mash up classic cartoon characters, fast food branding, and sex advertisements into biting satires of consumer culture. An integral part of the international street art scene, he is among the few artists to retain one of the first things that comes with gallery recognition: anonymity. Always refusing interviews, he claims only: “I go to sleep with a pizza on my chest. It’s embarrassing.” Such self-effacement belies a successful under- and above-ground career, with both solo projects and collaborative ones with the urban collective FAILE and the designer Marc Jacobs.
Michael “Bäst” Polimeni (he/him) was born in Coney Island, New York in 1970. He lived in Brooklyn until his death in 2021, and spent many years working at nearby JFK Airport.
2017
New Works by Bast, Allouche Gallery, New York City, NY, United States
2013
Seafoam, New Works By Bast, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY, United States
2012
Gërms Tröpicana, Opera Gallery, New York City, NY, United States
2010
Botulism, Lazarides Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2009
Back To The Drawing Board: A New Look At Contemporary Drawing, Arin Contemporary Art, Laguna Beach, CA
Beach Blanket Bingo - A Summer Mixer, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York City, NY
Grow Up,Lazarides Gallery, London (England)
Get Rich Quick, Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art, Culver City, CA
2008
Aqua Art Miami, FL
2007
Devilwood, New Image Art Gallery, West Hollywood, CA, United States
2006
"Draw" Tour, Fuse Gallery, New York City, NY
2023
Picasso, 50 ans déjà, l’Espace Culturel Marc Jacquet, Barbizon, France
Beyond the Streets London, The Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2022
2018
Paper Trail, Allouche Gallery, New York City, NY, United States
Beyond the Streets, Werkartz, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2017
Stand Still-A Still Life Show, Allouche Gallery, New York City, NY, United States
Events, Posted on 14/01/2020
With a booth at ARTEFIERA and two side exhibitions at BOOMing, Cellar Contemporary multiplies its presence in Bologna during the contemporary art week.
Read moreEvents, Posted on 10/10/2018
Cellar Contemporary will join the Raw Zone section of ArtVerona with the new artworks by Bäst
Read moreEvents, Posted on 20/06/2018
For the second edition of of the show ARTE FORTE | Waiting for the moment, spread in ten Austro-Hungarian fortress of Trentino, Cellar Contemporary presents a new series of Bäst works and starts a new collaboration with Denis Riva.
Read moreEvents, Posted on 19/12/2017
After a year from its opening, Cellar celebrates the faceless artist of NYC, Bäst, inaugurating his first solo exhibition Under/Above, on display at the gallery until February 2018.
Read more© 2024
Cellar Contemporary
by Davide Raffaelli
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