Green Villain Gallery

"Green Villain Gallery was born in 2009 within the historic Clorox Bleach Factory. It was an incubator of cross cultural exchange. It was a club house filled with hidden rooms and back alleyways, artist studios and multiple rooftops. It was a safe haven for graffiti artists, musicians and party goers—it was a brooding ground for visionaries. Here they bred creatures, monsters, fantasies and nightmares. It was the spark of possibility, it was the apple of forbidden knowledge. Here the wild things grew."

"Bathrooms have been home to graffiti, in the larger sense of the word, since ancient Rome. It is only natural, then, that the bathroom of an underground club should itself be covered with graffiti. The difference between the main walls and those in the bathroom is simple: the former were curated and the latter were not. The main walls are meritocratic while bathroom walls are democratic. Here your tag, maybe even your name, or your sticker is on even ground with the writing on the main walls."

"The alley was ideal for graffiti artists because the property owners on either side were indifferent to them. They were able to work during the day without having to be on the lookout for the police. Located in a lightly trafficked area of industry and small businesses it was relatively isolated. The alley thus had the feel of a private arena, a design collaboratory and gallery. The artists could experiment with new designs and techniques, show their friends and colleagues and then “buff” the walls and do it again the following day."