New York vs. Paris: Futura's City Guides

Both the Big Apple and the City of Lights have impacted the artist and his work.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

This feature is a part of Complex's Futura Week.

The world knows Leonard McGurr as Futura, and Futura can divide the world into two distinct places that have impacted his career and his art. Both the Big Apple and the City of Lights have shaped Futura over his 40+ years in the game.

Raised on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Futura came of age during the '70s, eventually sharing a studio art space with Fab 5 Freddy, another pioneer. In 1981, Futura travelled to Paris with the Clash during the lead-up to the release of Combat Rock. Though his work is closely associated with the downtown scene, the gallery that reps him, la Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont, is located in Paris, and the artist identifies with France heavily; after all, he met the mother of his children there.

Now, Futura is preparing for his first solo show in NYC in over a decade. Opening September 6, the "Future Shock" exhibition at 560 Washington St. will navigate our current dystopia. In the meantime, let the artist show you around his cities.

Grand Central Terminal

Not Available Interstitial

The Cyclone

Not Available Interstitial

The Central Park Bandshell and Skating Rink

Not Available Interstitial

The Cloisters

Not Available Interstitial

Hope Street, Brooklyn

Not Available Interstitial

The Glass Pyramid at the Musée du Louvre

Not Available Interstitial

Centre Pompidou

Not Available Interstitial

The Eiffel Tower as Seen from Trocadero

Not Available Interstitial

La Défense

Not Available Interstitial

The Place de la Bastille

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Pop Culture