D'Stassi Art Journal | In The Press | 13 October 2026

Al Diaz Featured in It's Nice That: Reclaiming the Legacy of SAMO©

A new feature in It's Nice That explores the extraordinary story of Al Diaz, his collaboration with Jean-Michel Basquiat and the continuing legacy of SAMO©, coinciding with his landmark UK debut exhibition at D'Stassi Art in London.

It's Nice That Spotlights the Co-Creator of SAMO©

On 12 October 2026, leading creative publication It's Nice That published a feature by writer Paul Moore examining the life, work and influence of New York artist Al Diaz.

Titled Al Diaz is reclaiming the legacy of Samo©, the graffiti project he created with Jean-Michel Basquiat, the article considers Diaz's role in one of the most significant artistic collaborations to emerge from New York's downtown cultural scene.

While Jean-Michel Basquiat went on to achieve international recognition, Diaz's contribution to SAMO© has not always received equivalent attention. The feature revisits their shared beginnings and highlights the importance of understanding SAMO© as a collaborative creation.

The publication also draws attention to Diaz's first UK solo exhibition, SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION, presented at D'Stassi Art in Shoreditch.

The Origins of SAMO©

In the late 1970s, Al Diaz and Jean-Michel Basquiat developed SAMO©, an abbreviation of the phrase "same old shit", as a conceptual project that challenged the conventions of graffiti, commercial advertising and contemporary culture.

Rather than concentrating on traditional lettering or the repetition of an individual artist's name, the pair used the streets of New York as a platform for cryptic statements, cultural observations and satirical messages.

Their interventions borrowed the language of advertising and branding while questioning the values those industries promoted. SAMO© became a fictional identity through which the artists could confront consumerism, conformity and the construction of individuality.

These statements appeared across downtown Manhattan, attracting attention through their unconventional mixture of humour, provocation and philosophical commentary.

In this way, SAMO© occupied a distinctive position between street writing and conceptual art, anticipating conversations about authorship, identity and commercial culture that remain relevant today.

Beyond Basquiat: Al Diaz's Independent Legacy

Much of the historical discussion surrounding SAMO© has been shaped by Basquiat's subsequent rise within the international art market. Yet the project emerged from a shared artistic exchange between two young New Yorkers experimenting with language, identity and public space.

Diaz, also known by his early graffiti name Bomb One, continued to develop his own creative practice as Basquiat moved increasingly into the gallery world.

The It's Nice That feature explores this divergence and examines how Diaz has approached the renewed visibility of SAMO© over recent years.

Since reviving the project in 2016, Diaz has continued to investigate its original concerns through new paintings, collage, typography and statements. His contemporary work demonstrates how the ideas behind SAMO© can evolve while remaining grounded in the questioning spirit of the original collaboration.

For Diaz, revisiting SAMO© is also an opportunity to contribute his own firsthand account to the history of a movement that has often been told through the life of his former collaborator.

SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION at D'Stassi Art

The renewed attention surrounding Diaz's work arrives alongside SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION, his UK debut exhibition at D'Stassi Art, which opened on 25 September 2026.

Presented in Shoreditch, London, the exhibition introduces British audiences to the continuing development of Diaz's distinctive visual language, bringing together original paintings, stencil-based statements, multi-coloured SAMO© works and collage.

The exhibition places the artist's contemporary practice in dialogue with the history of SAMO©, connecting the experimental atmosphere of late-1970s New York with the cultural and commercial landscape of the present day.

Across the works, familiar themes of consumerism, branding, authority and individuality are reconsidered through bold typography, humour and visual interventions.

For D'Stassi Art, presenting Diaz's UK debut is an opportunity to contribute to a broader understanding of street art history and to recognise an artist whose contribution extends far beyond his association with one of the twentieth century's most celebrated painters.

A Continuing Conversation

What makes the story of SAMO© particularly compelling is its continuing relevance.

At a time when identity is increasingly shaped by brands, digital platforms and commercial messaging, Diaz's observations remain strikingly contemporary. The project continues to expose the contradictions between individuality and conformity, authenticity and consumption, and artistic expression and commercial culture.

The feature in It's Nice That provides an important opportunity to reconsider the history of SAMO© through the perspective of one of its original creators.

Visitors to D'Stassi Art can encounter that perspective firsthand through SAMO : TRANSATLANTICATION.