Dash Snow: His Art Lives On (SLIDESHOW)

Artist Dash Snow died Monday night, reportedly of a heroin overdose. The 27-year-old artist was part of the "Bowery School" and downtown New York scene. In a 2007 profile, New York Magazine chronicled his art and troubled existence. "He has been living as hard as a person can--in and out of jail, doing drugs, running from the police--for a decade," the article reported.

Snow comes from a well-known New York art family. His grandmother, Christophe de Menil, is a prominent art collector and philanthropist. She confirmed Snow's death to The New York Times, and said that Snow was in rehab in March.

Snow began as a graffiti artist, co-founding the (in)famous Irak Crew. The artist worked with video, Polaroids, photographs, collage, founds objects, and his own bodily fluids to create subversive pieces that were garnering critical praise at the time of his death. Below is a slideshow of some of Snow's works, from a 2005 exhibit at The Saatchi Gallery in London to more recent works for Peres Projects (which has galleries in L.A. and Berlin).

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New York artist Dash Snow died Monday night at 27, reportedly due to a heroin overdose.

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Comments

[RachelEmbethWall]

Predictably and simplistically, art world types are proclaiming Snow a tragic genius who had ions of credibility to spare. He lived as hard as his art was hardcore, they say.

On the other side are Dash detractors, as simplistic in their statements as their more hipster-conscious brethren: Dash Snow was an heir to one of the world's private art collections, a millionaire, a guy who rebelled against his art world family by becoming....duh, an artist.

But he was a different kind of artist, A REAL artist, the artistes respond; the kind that doesn't care about perspective or form but rather creates art that communicates FEELINGS. My thought was, if Dash was numbing himself to the world by shooting smack for the past decade, how much did he value the notion of feeling? Really, his art is about everything that is the antithesis of feeling. The theme he returns to time and again is a desire to escape this world by inhabiting one of his own design and creation.

Dash Snow took one polaroid that made my jaw drop from beauty. It's of a boy jumping on top of a white cottage on a sunny day, bouyant and free, weightless, expressive, on top of the world. How sad that the man who could capture that image either was unable to use it as an artistic compass for life and creation, and instead will be remembered for capturing what it's like to be alive when you've already quit living.

[walruswheedchick]

HIs art will indeed live on since his family owns a museum. Its easy to be visible (even if one is making crap art) if you come from art world royalty. Tagging IRAK on the streets: unimpressive. Photographing sleeping tots w/ burgers on their heads: funny but still unimpressive. Simply put, his art is UNIMPRESSIVE!

[ScottBodenheimer]

It seems like he was a muse or symbol for the long gone image of a wild rock and roll New York, like the love child of Edie Sedgwick and Basquiat, something that can't exist anymore in the city of Giulani and Bloomberg and SoHo Gaps.

[art525]

His art lives on? He masturbated on newspapers. Where's the art in that? Please! He was just a spoiled and well connected rich boy who was a dilettante in the pretentious art world. I suppose he will now be deified like Basquiat.

[allalone]

Yet important enough for you take the time to comment on the story? Green?

[bsc]

this guy was a trust fund kid. his family was worth millions. that is why he was able to live the way he did.

[Josh Popichak]

Maybe he was another Keith Haring? More information would be helpful. Too tired to look for it, though.

[walruswheedchick]

Dont bother digging up facts about this dude. Listen to me, its a waste of your time.

[DrFrescas]

?!!?

[triplesevens]

no one outside of new york cares or knows about ds...sad loss,but probably not huffpo front page news.

[allalone]

Either way, his art will LIVE ON. Not many of us can say that we will leave anything memorable behind when we die, from what ever the cause. Dead is Dead and Art is Art! In the eye of the individual and that is America.

[Ramus]

London too. He's got a nice obit in The Guardian. There have been other addicts overdose after going into rehab and then coming out and using again after their tolerance has been lowered. He would been better off and his daughter would have a father if he hadn't tried rehab at all. His stuff is interesting. I don't understand the venom toward this guy. He was earning his money it would appear.

[bmermaid]

RIP. I hope the next life has no drugs.