KEO X-MEN a.k.a. SCOTCH 79 is a bona-fide Brooklyn legend in the realm of NYC graffiti and hip hop. KEO X-MEN came of age in the Brooklyn of the 1970s and learned his craft in the tunnels and yards of the MTAs subway system.

In 1984, at the age of 17, KEO was selected to exhibit in his first group-show at the legendary FUN GALLERY alongside Jean Michael Basquiat, Dondi White, Keith Haring, Futura 2000, and many other luminaries of the movement. He has gone on to show his fine art around the world, as well as curate exhibitions and auctions of Graffiti Art. Commercially, KEO’s work has graced album covers, book jackets, sportswear and apparel, signage, product packaging and just about every conceivable surface and substrate. His art has appeared in many music videos and major motion pictures, His talents are often called upon by companies such as Nike Sports Wear, Supreme, Sony, MTV, and Bertelsmann.

KEO has taught private instruction, summer youth classes at the Wyndanch Public Library, Paint Straight programs in conjunction with the the New York Department of Probation, as well as Art Therapy at Rikers Island’s Adolescent Reception and Detention Center. He has given workshops at Brooklyn Friends School and been a guest Lecturer at Rutgers University, The Jewish History Museum, The Schomburg, St. Francis College and many other Institutes.

With an old school aesthetic he continues to ingrain his charismatic signature into the tapestry of urban art & pop culture, while also redefining classic graffiti styles into fresh new work through his fine art and design outlets.

” KEO brings incredible talent, passion, commitment, and more than thirty years of experience to the classroom. He is not only a master of style, an expert on letterforms, and a walking repository of NYC art history, but a warm and gregarious teacher deeply skilled at conveying all that he knows. I’ve seen him dazzle graduate students and five-year-olds alike – my students and my daughter included. “

– Adam Mansbach, NYT Best-Selling Author of “Go The F*ck To Sleep” and Professor at Rutgers University