You have probably come across and seen Hektad’s works while taking your stroll throughout the urban landscape of NYC or maybe in the backdrop of someone Instagram Street art moments. From these murals with incredibly vibrant in colour and message to canvas in galleries.
Hektad was raised in the Bronx, NY. Hektad started in 1981 at age of 12, hitting it hard in the Graffiti culture nonstop until 1999. The moniker, Hektad manifest as a merging of the tag HEK and the acronym TAD for ‘They Always Destroy’ which was the name of Hektad’s first teenage crew, established in 1984. Hektad remembers the early days when the, self-taught artists dropped works across the city and nobody seemed to care and certainly nobody seemed to value their work. In 1986 Hektad graduated from the High School of Art and Design east Midtown location at 1075 Second Avenue. It was an underfunded public school that seeded the cultural life of NYC generation after generation. In Hektad’s day, graffiti writers like Tracy168, Fab Five Freddy, George Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, and Mare139 all graced the halls and tagged the walls of HSAD.
Hektad grew up during the storied era of the emergence of graffiti art. From its earliest expressions, the culture of graffiti art has sparked competitive infamy amongst young artists inspired to make their mark on their stomping grounds. The artists of New York City identified strongly with the city’s rich culture, coming from a deep sense of belonging and a recognition of the significance of belonging and of home. During the 1980s, New York graffiti artists’ reputations grew through tagging subway cars, which exposed their work to audiences far beyond the pieces they painted in their own neighborhoods. When city law enforcement curbed the tagging of trains, artists returned to the walls with more zeal and inspiration. Locations for graffiti art were lost as old industrial spaces were demolished due to city planning changes and gentrification, but in recent city development trends, this negation has declined. Developers have begun to recognize the value of street art: Graffiti and tagging have been absorbed into the mainstream aesthetic. Public artworks are celebrated and commissioned; murals serve to recognize and validate this important subculture and an artistic genre.
Hektad returned from his hiatus in 2014. The innovative and adventurous skinny kid, who leaped walls and scaled fences to leave his mark, has transformed into a mature artist navigating social mass media and the mainstream art industry. Since his return, Hektad’s output has been prolific and his profile, reputation, and recognition have soared.
In 2018, Hektad was selected for the “Mural Project” at World Trade Center by the Silverstein Properties, in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. His wall with his colorful hearts, “Amor es Amor” which means in English “Love is Love” on one side and on the other wall with continuous rows of “Love”
Street Art with Hektad | New York Live TV
More and more street artists are using the city as their canvas. So Raina Seitel catches up with Hektad, who has made his mark through his various pieces.
MAY THE LOVE BE WITH YOU - Interview with Hektad!
Hektad’s beautiful visual messages of LOVE are all around us wherever we go. They will uplift anyone who comes across them. If you’ve walked around New York City, you’ve seen his work. If you haven’t, you will want to after watching.
HEKTAD for TĀKOUT
The TĀKOUT team is excited to present the Valentine’s Day 2022 collection, “Love is Love” by NYC based street artist HEKTAD.
MY STREET ART ADDICTION EPISODE 14: HEKTAD
Hektad does it for the love and talks about how street art can affect people’s lives.
In August 2019, Hektad was recognized for his contribution to NY street art when he was invited to participate in the 39th Edition of The Graffiti Hall of Fame. The annual mural fest on 106th and 107th streets alongside the elevated Metro North train line on Park Avenue in El Barrio, has been known to street artists since 1980.
“It only took me 20 something years to paint at the Graffiti Hall of Fame but hey I’m here. Thank u for having me.”
With Hektad’s return to the scene noted and acknowledged by his peers, Hektad engaged in a newer aspect of his artmaking – The commissioned mural. This sanctioned and preserved type of street art served as a natural segway indoors into galleries and into collectors’ homes.
Here is an excerpt from the last Book “HEKTAD” Writing by Erika Hibbert, published by One Art Space
