BASHA

Artist CV

Founder of Absgraff®
Abstract Graffiti / Calligraffiti
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Professional Practice

2006–Present
Founder, President & Artist, BASHA Worldwide / Absgraff®
Salt Lake City, Utah
Originator of the Absgraff® visual language, integrating abstract graffiti, calligraffiti, symbolism, and contemporary form. Practice includes paintings, murals, installations, and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

2012–Present
Founder & Executive Director, Art Over Destruction (AOD) — 501(c)(3)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Leads youth-focused art initiatives, curriculum development, community programs, and national partnerships centered on creative resilience and mental health.

1995–Present
Independent Study, Graffiti & Abstract Form
Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco
Long-term study of letterform structure, rhythm, improvisational linework, and abstraction within West Coast graffiti traditions.

2013–2016
Art Educator — Salt Lake Youth Services & Art Over Destruction (AOD)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Provided youth art education, curriculum support, and creative workshops within community-based programs.

2013
Art Educator — Art Over Destruction (AOD)
Beijing, China
Delivered youth art education and creative workshops as part of an international AOD program.

Lectures & Institutional Engagements

2016 — Cornish College of the Arts
Seattle, WA
Artist lecture on Absgraff®, abstraction, graffiti lineage, and cross-cultural typographic influence.

2013 — AOD China Residency
Beijing, China
Lectures and workshops on abstract graffiti, visual language, and creative discipline.

2012 — Magna High School
Magna, UT
Artist lecture and student engagement on graffiti history, abstraction, and creative practice.

Selected Grants & Awards

Utah Arts & Museums — Artist & Project Grants (2018–2025)
Utah Governor’s Office — State Grant
Salt Lake Arts Council — Artist Grant
Absgraff® Gallery — Project Grant
Art Over Destruction (AOD) — Youth Arts Development Grant

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

2025 — Quiet Monarch
Absgraff Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2024 — Velocity Saints
Absgraff Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2023 — Concrete Saint
Absgraff Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2022 — Concrete Profit
801 Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2021 — Saint Augustine
801 Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2020 — Escape the Chaos
801 Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2019 — Anna Relax
Abstract 11 Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2009 — The Melrose Method
BYN Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2008 — BASHA x 801Made
Aperture Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

Group Exhibitions, Lectures & Special Projects

2018 — Six Stories Above Sugar House
Redman Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2017 — Absgraff® by BASHA
Fort Collins, CO

2017 — Salt Lines
Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2016 — The First Ascent
Park City Fine Art Gallery, Park City, UT

2015 — BASHA x Coronation (Fashion Collaboration)
Newport Beach, CA

2015 — Tracks & Paint
Mod Gallery, Seattle, WA

2014 — Urban Origins
Urban Arts Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2012 — Art Over Destruction (AOD) Launch Lecture
Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, UT

2011 — Emergence
Art Access, Salt Lake City, UT

2011 — Relax Arts
Group Exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT

2010 — LTW: Emergence
Group Exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT

2009 — ITX: Emergence
Group Exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT

2008 — 801 Made
Aperture Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2007 — BASHA & Mohammed Ali
Mural Collaboration, Soul City Arts
Birmingham, United Kingdom

2006 — Early works acquired by private Swiss collectors
Zurich, Switzerland

Public Service & Donations

2012 — Six original works donated to the Teen Recovery Wing
Primary Children’s Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT

Publications & Press

Books

Art for the People — Michael K. Corbin (2011)
Art of Everyday Joe — Michael K. Corbin (2008)

Selected Features

15 Bytes — Artist Feature (2021)
Salt Lake Magazine — Interview / Feature
Cornish College of the Arts — Absgraff® Feature (2016)
Art Crimes: Utah 2 — Early Graffiti Archive (2007)

Magazines & Media

Under Pressure, Issue #15 — Philadelphia (2010)
Full Spectrum Graffiti Magazine — Vancouver, BC (2004)
Deseret News — Young Entrepreneur Feature (1996)

Collections

Private Collections (Selected Countries)

United States · Canada · Switzerland · United Kingdom · United Arab Emirates · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Brazil · France · Spain · Italy · Germany · Norway · Sweden · Iceland · Japan · Australia · New Zealand · Kenya · Argentina · Mexico · Malaysia · China · Pakistan · Russia

Notable collectors include Michael K. Corbin and long-term private collectors in Park City, Tokyo, and Dubai.

Public Collections

Primary Children’s Hospital — Teen Recovery Wing
Salt Lake City, UT

Affiliations

Utah Governor’s Office
Salt Lake Magazine
University of Utah
Salt Lake Community College
Cornish College of the Arts
Phillips Gallery
Art Access Gallery
Urban Arts Gallery
Primary Children’s Hospital
Ronald McDonald House
Absgraff®
Art Over Destruction (501c3)

Authentication & Provenance

BASHA wax seal applied to select works
All works signed, dated, and catalogued
NFC-chip authentication available upon request
Absgraff® provenance documentation provided for high-value works

Artist Statement

My work merges graffiti, calligraffiti, and abstraction into a visual language of rhythm, symbolism, and coded meaning. Absgraff® is the collision of structure and chaos—where memory, movement, and design converge into a system of hidden order.