A 4 DAY EXHIBITION FROM THURSDAY March  2 -5TH

Gene Wagner,  I was born in 1970 in Hempstead Ive been drawing since I was a kid and growing up in a poor neighborhood I was subjected to a lot of street art .as I went through school my focus was always on art and drawing and painting. Through highschool I left home at 15 and made extra money painting peoples jackets and drawing tattoos , when I finished high school I had a partial art scholarship but couldn't get a loan so I went to the library and learned all I could and just kept copying all the masters from Raphael and carravaggio to Picasso and Pollock. I met my ex wife and she convinced me to get a regular job and I walked away from my dream till my divorce at 33 and I picked up the brush again moved home to new York city and haven't stopped painting since. I helped start occupy wall street to fight the foreclosures and was part of the original drum circle, we led marches and protests and even made an album called " occupy this album" for the movement. Then when the hurricane came we started "Occupy Sandy" here in staten island and helped raise money for the victims and using the internet to get donations directly to the victims by delivering medical supplies and food and clothing and rebuilding supplies for people who the insurance companies forgot. I wound up moving here because I loved the island so much and the people treated me like family.