LOS ANGELES, CA.- Julien’s Auctions has announced that the recent discovery of artwork by Jeffrey Brown A/K/A CASE2–revered in the hip hop and graffiti art community as the "King of Style"–will spotlight their recently announced biannual Street and Urban Art auction taking place May 2, 2018 live in Los Angeles at Julien’s Auctions and online. The rare canvas (estimate: $20,000 –$30,000) by the late subway graffiti king will take the throne alongside other groundbreaking work by street and urban art royalty including Banksy, RETNA, Invader, Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Paul McCarthy, Richard Pettibone, Andy Warhol and more offered at the auction event.

Considered one of the pioneers of 1970s–1980s graffiti art who influenced the phenomenon of street art, the hip hop movement and their mainstream trajectories into the art world and pop culture, CASE2, also known as Kase2, King Kase2 and his real name Jeffrey Brown, was born in the South Bronx, New York City on December 12, 1958. At ten years old, he lost his right arm and leg in a subway accident and fueled his life changing injury into his flourishing artistic endeavors. His first spray painted works included a handball court in 1973 and by 1976 had painted over fifty subway trains emblazoned with his tag as a member of The Fantastic Partners (TFP), a Bronx graffiti crew that included his partner BUTCH2, who also painted whole train cars in the 1970s and early 1980s. In the '80s, he created his own style of writing called "computer rock," an innovative wildstyle graffiti form where letters are broken into boxes and scrambled, showcasing his signature style of writing, challenging other competing graffiti crews to one up his style mastership. His innovative artistry and inspiring story of his life and legacy in the underground graffiti subculture was illustrated in the groundbreaking 1983 Sundance Film Festival winning documentary Style Wars.

CASE2 died in 2011 at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the South Bronx of lung adenocarcinoma. Prior to his death he was arrested on drug charges and as a "thank you" to his lawyers for the charges being dismissed, he created the 6 foot by 6 foot canvas featuring his tag and signed by the artist.

"Julien’s Auctions is thrilled and honored to find and offer this rare and one of its kind extraordinary piece of work by CASE2, a powerful artist whose impact goes beyond graffiti," said Darren Julien, President/Chief Executive Officer of Julien’s Auctions. "CASE2’s innovative artistry and style changed the way we view graffiti art and its possibilities and his influence on the popularity of today’s street art and hip hop culture is undeniable."