Andrew ZEPHYR Witten

ZEPHYR is an original member of the Rolling Thunder Writers crew. He began his graffiti career in the mid 1970s. By the late 1970s his name was a common sight throughout the city. During the early stages of his subway career most of his work appeared on the Broadway IRT local, where he produced a multitude of creative paintings alongside fellow crew members such as REVOLT, RASTA and MIN. He eventually branched out to the other subway divisions and formed alliances with crews such as CIA and TDS.

He was a well rounded writer, devoting time to both volume based and creative work. He is respected for his piecing skills as well as his handstyle — he has one of the most distinguished and admired tags in the New York School.

Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s he maintained a consistent presence on the subway system, but explored various creative outlets beyond his subway work. He was at the forefront of the graffiti movement's merger with mainstream culture. ZEPHYR was a key player in graffiti's transition from subways to galleries. In 1980, he along with FUTURA 2000 worked as middle men between writers and the established art world at Esses Studio. At the Studio, many of the city's most respected writers gathered and many painted on canvas for the first time. Throughout the 1980s he exhibited his work in galleries such as 51x and The Fun Gallery. In 1992 he was featured in Coming From the Subway, a landmark exhibition by Yaki Kornblit at the Groninger Museum in The Netherlands.

By the 1990s many writers of his generation had retired or engaged solely in legal painting and commercial endeavors, but ZEPHYR's steadfast dedication to the craft in its purest form remained consistent. He built a solid reputation in the freight train graffiti scene.

He is also an historian and author. In 2001 ZEPHYR and Michael White wrote Dondi White Style Master General - The Life of Graffiti Artist Dondi White He has also written forewords for notable books such as The Hip Hop files (2004 From Here To Fame) by Martha Cooper and Graffiti 365 (Abrams 2009) by Jay Edlin. In 2014 his work was featured in City as Canvas: Graffiti Art from the Martin Wong Collection at the Museum of the City of New York. He has also appeared in a number of films, including the classics Wild Style (1982), Style Wars (1983) and most recently in Rolling Like Thunder (2021).

ZEPHYR Interview conducted in late 1995 by SPAR ONE.

To RTW page

Visit: Zephyrgraffiti.com

Photos: ZEPHYR

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