VENTS137 is a UK-based artist whose connection to graffiti stretches back to the late 1990s — and whose fascination with trains goes even further, all the way to the mid-1980s, when he first began photographing them alongside his father.

His work occupies a deliberate space between generations. As he puts it: "I'm too young to be old school and too old to be new school — I'm basically treading water somewhere in the middle, trying to juggle a mix of 70s and 80s cartoons with a base of 1970s New York graffiti." It's a position that gives his practice a rare quality: deeply rooted, yet entirely its own.

Like many of his peers, VENTS137 came to graffiti through skateboarding — and the spirit of the street has never left his work. His illustrations are hand-drawn with alcohol or xylene markers; his murals are painted entirely freehand with aerosol. No shortcuts, no projectors. The process is as important as the result.

His visual language draws from a rich cultural well. Alongside the writing pioneers who shaped the foundation of the form — Cliff159, Billy167, Tracy168, Lee Quinones — he looks to animators and illustrators like Jay Ward, Ralph Bakshi, Vaughn Bodé, Jack Kirby and Robert Crumb. He is deliberate about not following contemporary illustration trends, keeping his drawing rooted in the original cartoonists and animators of the 1960s and 70s.

The result is a body of work that is internationally recognised — one that carries decades of graffiti culture not as nostalgia, but as a living practice. VENTS137 represents TUFF Crew, a family of like-minded peers and mentors who share that same commitment to the culture.

He is responsible for the fantastic cover sketch for STYLEFILE #59 ½ - the DELAYfile and recently supplied T-shirt designs for our Artist Series.

www.ventstore.company.site
@vents137