D’Stassi Art presents
AL DIAZ
SAMO :
TRANSATLANTICATION
25 SEPTEMBER 2026
D’STASSI ART, LONDON
In September 2026, D’Stassi Art presented SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION, the UK debut exhibition of pioneering New York artist and SAMO© co-creator Al Diaz.
Bringing Diaz's practice from New York to London, the exhibition presented a new body of original work spanning text, collage, stencil, subway-inspired works and large-scale interventions.
The project extended beyond the gallery itself, with Diaz creating work across East London and bringing the language of SAMO© directly into the public realm.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Al Diaz occupies a unique position in the history of New York art.
Growing up on the Lower East Side, Diaz became an important figure within New York's early graffiti movement before developing SAMO© with his friend and creative collaborator Jean-Michel Basquiat in the late 1970s.
Rather than conventional graffiti writing, SAMO© appeared across downtown Manhattan as fragments of language, observations and cryptic statements. The work transformed the streets into a platform for ideas, using language itself as an artistic medium.
Nearly five decades later, Diaz continues to explore the relationship between language, authorship, public space and contemporary culture.
SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION brought that practice to London, presenting Diaz not simply through the history surrounding SAMO©, but as a living and continually evolving contemporary artist.
SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION, D’Stassi Art, London, 2026
THE MAKING OF TRANSATLANTICATION
FROM NEW YORK
TO LONDON
Diaz travelled to London ahead of the exhibition, developing and completing works while preparing the gallery presentation.
The process became part of the project itself, moving between the gallery, public space and a wider programme of activity across the city.
Al Diaz in London, September 2026
STREET INTERVENTION
SAMO© MOVES
INTO EAST LONDON
Ahead of the exhibition, Diaz's language moved beyond the gallery and onto the streets of East London, continuing a practice rooted in public space and direct intervention.
Working directly onto the surrounding architecture, Diaz created a new London chapter for SAMO©, bringing the project back into the public realm in which its language first developed.
Creating the SAMO© street intervention, East London
SAMO© Street Intervention, London 2026
SAMO©, East London
Street Intervention, London 2026
London Intervention
Completed SAMO© Intervention, London 2026
25 SEPTEMBER 2026
OPENING NIGHT
D’Stassi Art welcomed collectors, artists, friends and visitors to Shoreditch for the opening of Al Diaz's first UK exhibition, bringing together the new body of work, the SAMO© x DARKCIRCLE collaboration and Diaz's wider London project.
Opening Night, D’Stassi Art
SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION, London 2026
SAMO© x DARKCIRCLE
Presented alongside the exhibition, the SAMO© x DARKCIRCLE capsule extended Diaz's visual language into clothing, editions, objects and large-scale textile works.
The collection included limited garments, hand-finished intervention pieces, prints, museum totes and woven works developed around Diaz's London presentation.
Al Diaz x DARKCIRCLE, D’Stassi Art
PRESS
TRANSATLANTICATION
IN THE PRESS
HYPEBEAST
Al Diaz on the Real Meaning Behind SAMO© With Basquiat
Hypebeast speaks with Diaz about the origins of SAMO©, his creative relationship with Jean-Michel Basquiat and the history behind one of downtown New York's most recognisable conceptual art projects.
COMPLEX
Al Diaz and DARKCIRCLE Turn SAMO© Into a New London Capsule
Complex spotlights the SAMO© x DARKCIRCLE collaboration unveiled alongside Diaz's UK debut exhibition at D’Stassi Art.
ABOUT AL DIAZ
Al Diaz is a New York artist, writer and cultural figure whose practice has developed across more than five decades.
He was a formative participant in New York's early graffiti culture and, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, co-created SAMO©, the conceptual graffiti project that began appearing throughout Lower Manhattan in the late 1970s.
His subsequent work has continued to investigate language and the urban environment through text, found materials, collage, signage and interventions in public space.
Diaz's work connects the history of graffiti and downtown New York with conceptual art, poetry, social commentary and contemporary visual culture.
SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION marked his UK debut exhibition at D’Stassi Art.
EXHIBITION DETAILS
AL DIAZ
SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION
The UK Debut Exhibition
25 September 2026
D’Stassi Art, Shoreditch, London
Selected works from the exhibition remain available for acquisition. For artwork details, pricing or further information, please contact D’Stassi Art.