Creed Gallery in Ascot, Berkshire, offers work by DEFER (Alex Kizu), a first-generation Los Angeles graffiti writer whose intricate letterforms he calls Spiritual Language. Our current work is Def Syntax (2022), a hand-embellished silkscreen print on fine art paper, hand-signed and an Artist's Proof, priced at £1,995. Our team can advise on edition, framing and provenance for collectors across Berkshire, Surrey and London.
About DEFER: A Pioneer of LA Graffiti
Alex Kizu grew up in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, and started writing graffiti in the mid-1980s. He took his name from the Def Jam hat he wore, adding the "-er" suffix common among early LA writers. He began with the L.A. Bomb Squad and was a founding member of the K2S (Kill 2 Succeed) crew in 1985, as well as the STN and KGB crews. Growing up amid block letters and cholo placas shaped his lettering, and his mastery of bold letterforms is rooted in Los Angeles street culture.
Spiritual Language
DEFER's later work distorts, layers and extends letterforms until legibility dissolves into rhythm. He describes the process as intuitive, aiming for a "flow state" in which the brush moves freely. His work has been exhibited at the Getty, the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and L.A. Louver, and shown in the Beyond the Streets exhibitions of 2019, 2020 and 2021. He has collaborated with brands including Apple, Google and Beats by Dre, and he appears in Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon's The History of American Graffiti.
Collecting DEFER at Creed Gallery
Def Syntax (2022) is a hand-embellished silkscreen on 300gsm fine art paper with deckled edges, measuring 86 × 65.5 cm (33.9 × 25.8 in), priced at £1,995. It is an Artist's Proof, an impression made outside the numbered edition, and is hand-signed. DEFER applies the hand embellishment to each impression individually after printing, so no two are identical. We only have this one work by him at present, so register your interest for future editions and originals. You're welcome to visit the gallery in Ascot.
Why Collect DEFER
His calligraphic abstractions come straight out of the beginnings of LA graffiti, and the hand embellishment makes each print an individual object. As with any artist, individual pieces vary in demand and value, so our team is happy to talk you through the specifics of any work you're considering.
