Michael De Feo

Michael De Feo (born July 21, 1972) is an American artist who was an early pioneer of the street art movement in New York City. He is best known for his floral paintings, which have earned him the nickname "the Flower Guy".

Career De Feo has created street art in over 60 cities around the world, and his iconic illustration of a flower has become internationally famous. He began making street art as an art student in 1993, and a year later, painted his first flower mural on the side of a building on East 23rd Street in Manhattan. He then spent countless nights pasting hundreds of versions of that single flower all over the city's building walls. He expanded internationally from there, painting in public spaces in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and Los Angeles, among others.

In 2015, after De Feo painted his signature flowers on a J. Crew advertisement at a bus stop, the brand asked him to design a line of shirts. In addition to the shirt line, his art was featured in J. Crew store windows around the world. He has collaborated with several other fashion brands, including Milly, Neiman Marcus, and Christian Louboutin.

In 2004, De Feo published his first book, Alphabet City: Out on the Streets. This award-winning children's book employs New York City as his canvas, using his paintings glued on the streets of Manhattan to illustrate each letter of the alphabet. As one reviewer noted, "De Feo's art evokes beauty and optimism with a childlike simplicity while paying homage to gritty Manhattan."

Art style De Feo often paints bright, colorful flowers across fashion advertisements, bus stops, and the walls of buildings. His work blurs street art and fashion culture, and references themes such as the cycle of life, growth, beauty, and ephemerality. Although street art is a relatively modern medium, De Feo has been influenced by Dutch 17th century still life paintings, Victorian art, fashion magazines, and fashion advertising campaigns. and "contains all the necessary components to make it well and truly groundbreaking."

Notable exhibitions De Feo's work has been featured in a numerous international galleries and museums, notably at the New Museum in New York in 2003; the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut in 2005; Manifesta 7 in Trento, Italy in 2008; the Underbelly Project in New York in 2010; and Jonathan LeVine's 10 years of Wooster Collective show in 2013, for which De Feo exhibited several flower paintings along with his manhole cover sculpture; Bleecker Street Arts Club in 2014; a solo exhibition at Danziger Gallery in New York in 2015; a solo exhibition at The Garage in Amsterdam in 2015; a site-specific installation at the Rice Gallery in Houston in 2016; and a School of Visual Arts alumni exhibition at the School of Visual Arts Chelsea Gallery in 2017.

Philanthropy De Feo has contributed his work to various benefit auctions and non-profit organizations, such as Free Arts and the Children's Museum of New York. Russel Simmon's philanthropy, Rush Philanthropic, chose De Feo as their featured artist of the year in 2014.

De Feo has been working with the High Line in New York since prior to its groundbreaking in 2006. In September 2016, De Feo designed signage, posters, and various artwork to celebrate the Chelsea Grasslands for the Friends of the High Line in New York.

Personal life De Feo was born in Yonkers, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from Manhattanville College. Metal Magazine Paper Magazine New York Observer i-D InStyle The Globe and Mail Wonderland Magazine 2006 To Be Seen, produced by Alice Arnold, First Run Icarus Films, screened on PBS/WLIW & The Museum of Modern Art 2007 Concrete Canvas, Electric Sky Productions for gallery HD (Vroom Networks), UK 2009 MTV Brazil, “The Flower Guy” 2010 Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop 2014 Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, New York, “A Pocket Full of Posies”, September 4 2016 “Michael De Feo: Crosstown Traffic” by Walley Films for Rice Gallery, Rice University, Houston, Texas

Awards 2016 Clio Award, Fashion & Beauty, Bronze for Neiman Marcus The Book series, both covers of April Issue 2010 D&D Award, Wood Pencil, Magazine & Newspaper Design, Magazine Front Cover, Best of the Year for Cover of New York Magazine's "Reasons to Love New York" Issue 2006 Certificate of Design Excellence for the Cover of New York Magazine's Double End of the Year Issue, "Reasons to Love New York Right Now," Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, November/December 2005 Radius Award, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT 2005 Certificate of Design Excellence for "Alphabet City: Out On The Streets," Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, November