Michael De Feo, also known as the Flower Guy, is an American street artist famous for his stylized, iconic flower imagery that can be found in many international urban locations but also inside various magazines. The artist has been working for more than two decades on the streets of numerous major cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Cabo San Lucas, Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, Buenos Aires, and Hong Kong. His most recent works from 2015 and 2016, similarly to Vermibus’ pieces, revolve around the takeover of fashion advertising panels found around bus stops in NYC.
Micheal De Feo lives in New York City with his wife Lia and daughter Marianna and he is a regular supporter of various non-profit organizations, such as Friends of the High Line, The Children’s Museum of The Arts and The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, to name a few. Even though he became publicly recognized for his flower imagery, the artist has created a variety of other works which reflect his interest in the fashion and advertising industry. His illegal public interventions consist of hijacking advertising panels and painting over trendy fashion photographs. However, not all of his pieces are illegal – he also participates in sponsored partnerships. For instance, in 2016, he designed a line of women’s accessories that will be launched in Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom stores. The additional fashion projects from 2016 are De Feo’s takeover of Neiman Marcus’ catalog and his collaboration on a campaign for the eminent designer Christian Louboutin. The culmination of De Feo’s interest in fashion was his designing of the accessories line called eMichael De Feo for Echo. This innovative line is still available at Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor and similar high-end stores. Besides his fashion-related projects, De Feo is also engaged in book writing. His children’s book named Alphabet City: Out on the Streets won many awards. Throughout this adorable book, De Feo uses New York City as his canvas. His paintings on the streets of Big Apple represent each letter of the alphabet, which is a very insightful aid when it comes to learning the alphabet.
De Feo’s work is far from being a regular street art. His pieces aren’t bound to appear only on the streets – the artist is also a regular exhibitor in a wide range of galleries and museums, such as The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT, MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, Museo de Arte in San Juan, Puerto Rico and also Colette in Paris and Stolen Space in London. De Feo’s most successful exhibits were Wooster on Spring at New York’s Candle Building, which is considered one of top 10 cultural events in 2006. The same goes for 10 Years of Wooster collective exhibit, held at Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York, in 2013. De Feo’s work is also a part of numerous media outlets, primarily magazine covers. His best-known works when it comes to magazines includes NewYork Magazine’s Reasons to Love New York, then The New York Times and The London Sunday Times, as well as TIME Magazine. De Feo is interested in the film industry as well and considers is another suitable platform for his artworks. His pieces have appeared in documentaries such as Alice Arnold’s To Be Seen and legendary Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop. In 2014, thanks to the excellence of De Feo’s work, Russell Simmons and The Rush Arts Philanthropy Foundation selected him as their featured artist.
De Feo’s work has gone through an exciting evolution – he started small and his first pieces were mostly illegal, but his innovative style became recognizable and highly appraised. Ever since the early 2000s, Michael has been having a lot of group and solo shows. In June 2016, he had an exhibition at Rice Gallery in Houston, while in July 2016 he’s about to have a new solo show at Danziger Gallery in New York, dedicated to his new imaginatively colorful pieces.
Featured image: Michael De Feo’s Portrait, 2016 – image via instagrafite.com
All other images courtesy of the artist.
Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Michael De Feo | Danziger Gallery, New York, NY | Solo |
2016 | Michael De Feo | Rice Gallery, Rice University, Houston | Solo |
2016 | Michael De Feo | Urban Art Fair, Paris, France | Solo |
2016 | The Fashion Pages | The Garage, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Solo |
2015 | Dream Downtown | Children’s Museum of The Arts, NY | Group |
2014 | A Pocket Full of Posies | Rush Art Gallery,NY | Solo |
2014 | A’P’art: Le festival international d’art contemporain | Alpilles-Provence, France | Group |
2014 | Michael De Feo | Bleecker Street Arts Club, New York, NY | Group |
2014 | Michael De Feo | Scope Art Fair, New York, NY | Group |
2013 | Free Arts A to Z Project | Hearst Tower, New York, NY | Group |
2013 | George the Dog John the Artist | Howard Griffin Gallery, London, UK | Group |
2013 | 10 Years of Wooster Collective: 2003-2013 | Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2013 | Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA | Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA | Group |
2013 | Michael De Feo | Stolenspace Gallery, London, UK | Group |
2013 | Wider than a Postcard | Breeze Block Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2013 | Free Arts NYC 14th Annual Art Auction and Benefit | Eyebeam, New York, NY | Group |
2012 | Cit’Imagine… une ville | Bibliotheque Toulouse, Toulouse, France | Group |
2012 | Art Music Success: A Benefit for Bronx Success Academy | Fourth and Bowery | Group |
2012 | INTRODUCING: LIGHTBOMBS CONTEMPORARY | LIGHTBOMBS Contemporary, Art East Island, Hong Kong, China | Group |
2012 | 10th Annual Silent Auction to support The Thorn Tree Project | Skylight West Studios, New York, NY | Group |
2012 | Free Arts NYC 13th Annual Art Auction and Benefit | Eyebeam, New York, NY | Group |
2012 | TRESPASS: A Benefit to support The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum | BMW of Ridgefield | Group |
2011 | Collaborative Mural | Children’s Museum of The Arts, NY | Solo |
2011 | Coming in from the Outside | Orange Dot Gallery, London, UK | Solo |
2011 | A’P’art: Le festival international d’art contemporain | Alpilles-Provence, France | Solo |
2011 | The Underbelly Show | Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL | Group |
2011 | On Every Street | Samuel Owen Gallery, Greenwich, CT | Group |
2011 | Living Walls | Various Public Locations, Albany, NY | Group |
2011 | Free Arts NYC 12th Annual Art Auction and Benefit | Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY | Group |
2011 | I have a dream, I have a nightmare: Friday the 13th… | New Puppy LA, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2010 | Mining for Splinters and Diamonds | No Borders Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, China | Solo |
2010 | Never Judge…? | Stolen Space, London, UK | Group |
2010 | Primary Flight (outdoor mural) | Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL | Group |
2010 | Fresh Produce | Graffiti Gone Global, Miami, FL | Group |
2010 | Bembe: Dave The Chimp | Nina Sagt Galerie, Dusseldorf, Germany | Group |
2010 | Aldrich Undercover (benefit group exhibit) | Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT | Group |
2009 | New Self-Portraits | Hollywood in Cambodia, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Solo |
2009 | Limited Run 3 | Open Space, Beacon, NY | Group |
2009 | Blueprint For Space | ArtCenter/South Florida, Miami Beach, FL | Group |
2009 | Primary Flight | Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL | Group |
2009 | BKMIA – Brooklyn Miami | AE District, Miami, FL | Group |
2009 | Squishy Universe: A Benefit for Waterside School | RIP IONS, Miami, FL | Group |
2008 | The Editions/Artists’ Book Fair | Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, New York | Solo |
2008 | Flowers | Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico | Solo |
2008 | Flowers | Manifesta 7 | Solo |
2008 | Another Show | Another Space, Amsterdam, the Netherlands | Solo |
2008 | The Piece Process | Anonymous Gallery | Group |
2008 | Primary Flight | Art Basel Miami Beach | Group |
2008 | Urban Painting | Atrion, Carugate, Italy | Group |
2008 | Aldrich Undercover | The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT | Group |
2008 | 400 ML | La maison des Matellos, Paris, France | Group |
2007 | Inside Out | OPEN SPACE Gallery, Beacon, NY | Solo |
2007 | Olympia – Hommage au Manet | Association le M.U.R., Paris, France | Solo |
2007 | Michael De Feo: Drawings and Paintings | A3 Art Fair, Paris, France | Solo |
2007 | Behind the Seen | Ad Hoc Gallery, Brooklyn, NY | Group |
2007 | Primary Flight | Art Basel Miami Beach | Group |
2007 | Ad Hoc Art | Fountain Art Fair | Group |
2006 | 35th Independence Day Art Festival | Park Gallery, Kathmandu, Nepal | Group |
2006 | Wooster on Spring | Candle Building, New York, NY | Group |
2006 | Snackshop 5000: The Vending Machine Show | Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY | Group |
2005 | Two Atmospheres | Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT | Solo |
2005 | Alphabet City | Colette, Paris, France | Solo |
2005 | Alphabet City | The New Museum Store, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY | Solo |
2005 | Escape From Suburbia | 583 Art Gallery, Stamford, CT | Group |
2005 | Radius | RGA Gallery, Ridgefield, CT | Group |
2005 | Keep A Breast | Stay Gold Gallery, Brooklyn, NY & The Lab 101, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2004 | For The People | Crucible Steel Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2004 | Hollywood: The Remix | Wooster Arts Space, New York, NY | Group |
2004 | The Interventionists: Art in the Social Sphere | Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA | Group |
2003 | Michael De Feo | 90 Square Meters, Amsterdam, the Netherlands | Solo |
2003 | Michael De Feo | New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY | Group |
2003 | The Art of Rebellion | Die Registratur, Munich, Germany | Group |
2003 | Ill Communication | Urbis, Manchester, England | Group |
2002 | ULTRA | The Little Theatre, Seattle, WA | Group |
2002 | Stick’em Up | Magma London, UK | Group |
2002 | Repellent Magazine | Artists Space, New York, NY | Group |
2001 | Michael De Feo | Halcyon, Brooklyn, NY | Solo |