AL DIAZ: SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION
D’Stassi Art presents SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION, the UK debut exhibition of pioneering New York artist and SAMO© co-creator Al Diaz.
Join us in London on Friday 25 September for the opening night of this landmark exhibition.
Launch event
Friday 25 September 2026
7 PM until midnight
D’Stassi Art, Shoreditch, London
Born and raised in New York, Diaz emerged from the city’s graffiti scene in the 1970s and became one of the defining voices of its downtown cultural movement. Alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, he co-created SAMO, the enigmatic series of poetic, satirical and often confrontational statements that began appearing across Lower Manhattan in the late 1970s.
Written on walls throughout SoHo and the East Village, SAMO became part artwork, part social commentary and part anonymous mythology. Its language challenged art, commerce, politics, conformity and the culture surrounding them, leaving a lasting mark on the visual history of New York.
Diaz has continued to develop that language over the decades, bringing together text, typography, found materials, collage and the visual vocabulary of the city.
For his first UK exhibition, SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION brings that story across the Atlantic. A new body of work connects the streets and cultural histories of New York and London, revisiting the spirit of SAMO while placing Diaz’s own voice firmly at the centre of the story.
Join us at D’Stassi Art in Shoreditch for the opening night.
Friday 25 September 2026
6PM till late
D’Stassi Art, London
Admission is complimentary. RSVP required.