A rogue street artist plastered pink paper mache over an iconic downtown façade that was once the studio of legendary painter Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The face of 57 Great Jones Street in NoHo, which is now home to Angelina Jolie’s luxury fashion venture, has long been a mecca for those who consider street art an essential piece of the city’s cultural landscape.
Acolytes of the graffiti legend were incensed to discover the building covered in a layer of pink grime, blotting out years of artwork from the famous storefront for the third time in under a year.
“There’s years worth of art under there. It’s like the texture of the city,” street artist Doodle Hedz told The Post. “The street art community is like ‘What the f–k bro’? Why would you do this?”
Atelier Jolie at 57 Great Jones Street, days after the iconic graffiti covering its façade was covered in pink paper mache Paul MartinkaOthers were more blunt in their assessment of the vandal.
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“He f—ing sucks. It’s the third time he’s done it,” said an artist named Scott. “You can spend hours creating something you share with the city for free and someone comes along with 79 cents of pink paint and s–ts all over it.”
The former stable was once owned by Andy Warhol, who allowed Basquiat to reside and work there from 1983 until he died in 1988.
Jolie first leased the location eight years ago, and in February she opened her fashion venture Atelier Jolie there.
Art lover Michael Singleton, 57, was disgusted that the vandal even covered the Jean-Michel Basquiat plaque Paul MartinkaJolie wanted to remain sensitive to NYC artists by allowing them to continue using the storefront as a canvas and pay tribute to Basquiat — as they have for decades.
“When Jolie got the lease everyone was panicking that she was going to paint it,” Doodle Hedz said. “But word on the street is [renowned graffiti artist] Albert Diaz spoke with Angelina Jolie and advocated for her to leave the front alone, and she was going to let it ride.”
“The people who work there are very nice,” the artist said. “They still let us do this and don’t call the cops. This is one of the few walls in the city still dedicated to street art.”
While the motivation behind the pink vandalism remains unclear, artists don’t think Jolie or her store had anything to do with it.
“Nope. Not at all,” said Doodle Hedz when asked if there was any connection to the actress. “Nobody can understand why he’s destroying other artists’ work. There’s such a total disrespect for the art.”
“What are you angry at? Are you angry at Basquiat? Are you angry at the street art community? Are you jealous? Do you have no talent to put up anything else so you’re just going to cover everybody else’s s–t? Why? This is people’s passion, blood, sweat, tears,” Doodle Hedz asked.
The building was the home and studio of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 1980s EPA Angelina Jolie opened her high-end fashion store and café, Atelier Jolie, at the building back in February GC ImagesArt lover Michael Singleton, 57, called the vandalism “asinine,” and pointed out that a Greenwich Village Historical Preservation Society plaque about Basquiat mounted out front was left illegible by the paper mache.
“I get art and graffiti but that’s just stupid. The plaque told everyone what this place was and they’ve painted over the plaque. It’s ridiculous,” he said.
Exactly who is behind the repeated vandalism is unclear, but some on the street believe artist Roberto Palacio is the culprit.
Palacio, whose past work includes cutting laundry detergent bottles in half and adhering them to sheets of paper towel before painting it all pink, has laid no outright claim to the vandalism but has made numerous posts on social media about it with cryptic messages.
“The pinkest pink paint in the known universe was planted specifically on the first day of Spring March 19th (official time, 11:06 PM) The vernal equinox has arrived!” he wrote next to a photo of the pinked-out façade on Wednesday — even as Doodle Hedz said she found the vandalism a day earlier on the morning of March 18.
Artist Roberto Palacio has suggested on social media that he is the culprit behind the repeated vandalism at the building @reezopalacio / Instagram Palacio posted an apparent selfie outside the building after a pinking in August @reezopalacio / InstagramShortly after one of the pink-outs back in August, Palacio posted a selfie of a man in the mask in front of the freshly painted storefront at night, and even a shot of somebody’s hands covered in pink paint alongside the caption “‘THE ERASURE OF JEAN- ll’ ; PINK.”
Palacio could not be reached for comment when contacted by The Post.
Artists said despite the culprit’s activities, they will not be deterred by his destruction.
“They’re such a coward, they won’t even show their face, they just paint over our stuff,” said artist Savior Elmundo. “If we knew who did this, trust me all these street artists would confront them.”
“This has happened three times. Every time he comes like an a–hole, we’ll come back. It’s stupid, he’s an idiot, he’s wasting paint. We’ll come back like ‘Thank you, we’ll do some new work.'”
