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Rah Crawford is an American visual artist and founder of NPIC-Art who lives and works in New York City.

Early Life
Crawford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Throughout his early childhood, Crawford received a diverse arts education, attending summer art camps, music and theater lessons, and a ballet classes.

Crawford was offered a full scholarship to the The University of the Arts, which he declined in order to explore his personal artistic vision. Crawford currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Career
Crawford took over a decade to develop Neoteric Pop-Iconic Clairvoyance (NPIC-Art), in which the artist uses words to share visible and non-visible information. The words found in his paintings are an analog link; by researching the words used within the art and discovering its definition, the viewer is able to unlock a deeper layer of intent within the artist’s work.

Crawford made his gallery debut as an emerging artist, presenting works based on his NPIC-Art manifesto, on November 5, 2004 at Qbix Gallery in Philadelphia. In 2005, Crawford presented his painting 24K Godz at the “Taboo” juried exhibition hosted by Studio Montclair in Newark, New Jersey, which spotlighted emerging artists outside the traditional New York gallery scene. Art critic Jerry Saltz selected Crawford’s painting as an outstanding and notable work in the show.

As Crawford's work garnered attention internationally, he obtained representation in London and in Amsterdam, and several of his images were licensed for home decor items, which retailed in the Stedelijk Museum Store at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. On New Year’s Eve 2004, Crawford created live art on stage when he performed with The Roots at the Electric Factory in his hometown of Philadelphia. In 2005, Young Benefactors of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. auctioned one of Crawford's works.

In 2008, the Affordable Art Fair in Amsterdam used Crawford’s painting Bonjour Blasé for its promotional image. Soon after, Private View commissioned Crawford to create portraits of several Olympic athletes for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. In 2008, the SONS Museum (Shoes or No Shoes) in Kruishoutem, Belgium, acquired the Diesel shoes Crawford wore while working in his studio, and they are exhibited as part of the museum’s permanent collection.

In 2008, a selection of Crawford’s artworks featured in the group exhibition “I AM A MAN” at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in Brooklyn, New York. In reviews of the exhibition published in The New York Times, Holland Cotter described Crawford’s work as "exuberant," and Monica Drake described it as “buoyant" and “optimistic."

The Art History Archive includes Crawford in a list of 17 Neo-Pop artists, including Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, and Jeff Koons, whose work defines the genre.

Creative Ambassador of Philadelphia
In 2009, the City of Philadelphia named Crawford as one of elevent creative ambassadors as part of its Philly 360°® campaign. Crawford and the other ambassadors, which included The Roots, Rich Medina and King Britt, were selected for their commitment to Philadelphia’s artistic endeavors, business enterprises, and community involvement.

League of Inspiration
Crawford founded the League of Inspiration in 2017 as a new approach to education. The program provides opportunities for students to experience abstract learning, to embark on cultural site visits and local walks, and to participate in open discussion.

Exhibition series
“Welcome to Earth—Rah Crawford’s Art Experience” was an exhibition divided into four separate acts, which revealed Crawford’s vision over time. It began in Philadelphia with “Act 01: Human” on November 5, 2004 and concluded in New York with “Act 04: Abracadabra” on June 7, 2015. For each exhibition, Crawford collaborated with artists from a variety of creative disciplines to create an immersive experience for his audience.

Act 01: Human
Crawford exhibited “Act 01: Human” at Qbix Gallery in Philadelphia. Reviewing the exhibition, Francisco Cadavid wrote that “Crawford deals with very human issues, ranging from sin, to race, to narcissism, capturing what makes us truly human,” and that “Crawford’s vivid use of color accents his inventive method of hiding the meaning of the work in the relationship between the text and the image.”

Act 02: Deux Ex Machina
Crawford’s exhibition “Act 02: Deus Ex Machina” at Qbix Gallery in Philadelphia included one-of-a-kind framed oil paintings and four-foot large works. Crawford committed to destroying four of his paintings, at midnight on the last day of the exhibition, unless the collectors bought those pieces. Out of the four, one painting was purchased and two destroyed. The crowd pleaded in unison to save the final painting Mr. and Mrs. Bear, a 30x30-inch oil painting on board, which by that time had a six-inch vertical saw cut in the bottom center of the painting.

Act 03: Loovorfook
“Act 03: Loovorfook” held at Qbix Gallery in Philadelphia was one Crawford’s of most erotic art exhibitions to date. The exhibition program asked “what drives your sex?”. There was a red-lit window in the gallery, where a performance art piece was held: a body painted couple interacting becoming closer through the night. An honorary official was provided for couples at the pre-party to make public declarations and vows of love to each other.

Act 04: Abracadabra
Crawford exhibited “Act 04: Abracadabra” at Lightspace Studios, an expansive 5,100-square-foot production studio in Brooklyn, New York. The exhibition included Crawford’s paintings and projected images of his works, as well as aerialists, performance artists and sound art, which transformed the exhibition into a sensorial experience.

No Muse No Art
In 2011, Crawford painted a mural at the five-point intersection at St. Nicholas Avenue and Troutman Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn with the phrase “No Muse No Art.” Crawford’s was the first mural painted at this intersection, which has since been heavily painted with rotating murals by artists in The Bushwick Collective.

On March 21, 2015, Crawford presented at TEDx Bushwick.

Crawford launched the NO MUSE NO ART™ brand in June 2017 with a series of t-shirts featuring NPIC-Art, graphic images, and philosophical statements. The ethos of the art-centric lifestyle brand is “Without inspiration, there is no creation."