VANDAL

Vandal was a Tao Group restaurant and lounge on the Bowery in New York, built inside a historic location that they completely gutted and redesigned with a street art and global street food theme. When they called me for the project, I designed and painted the marquee logo, as well as the entryway facade, covering the space above the windows and across the front wall.

Inside, the right side opened into a hidden speakeasy-style flower shop, disguising the restaurant behind it, while the lounge downstairs came alive after hours. For the interior, I painted Venetian blue walls covered in white spray lettering, wrapping the ceiling, stair risers, and lounge with lyrics from Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” later redone by Tony Bennett. That song, that era of writing culture—all of it felt like classic New York.

At first, people would say, “We can’t read it,” but as soon as I pointed out where to start, they’d begin singing along as they followed the words through the space. The idea was to reference old NYC subway stairwells, covered in graffiti by my peers and predecessors, but with a designed, wallpaper-like twist.

Even the coffee cart carried that same blue and white lettering, a small but intentional connection. And to my surprise, the stairwell and lounge became one of the most photographed spots in New York for years—celebrities, patrons, everyone wanted their picture on that stairwell. It became part of the culture, part of the space, just like I had hoped.