Walk into an art gallery in Upper Montclair and you’ll find a photo of a 16-year-old Snoop Dog smoking a cigarette and holding a gun. The price tag? $6,995. Ria Mulvy, owner of Ria x Art Gallery, is a huge fan of hip hop. It was the soundtrack to her teenage years in Queens. So a show featuring photographs of its icons is right in her wheelhouse.
The photographs were taken by the late Chi Modu. He got up close to legends like Notorious B.I.G, Tupac, Snoop Dog and Ice T right as hip hop was taking off. Modu was born in Nigeria but was a longtime resident of New Jersey. He took up photography at Rutgers and passed away from cancer in 2022.
As a hip hop aficionado and collector, Mulvy was thrilled when she encountered Modu’s children selling the artist’s book “Uncategorized” at the 14C Art Fair last fall. Mulvy thought “I would love to bring them to Montclair and put them up.”
The prices, all in the $7,000 range, are based on Modu’s selling history. Mulvy points out a particularly famous shot of Notorious B.I.G. in front of the World Trade Center. All of them–Modu, Biggie and the towers—are “not here anymore,” she notes. The photo, in a bigger enlargement, sold for $30,000 at a 2020 Sotheby’s auction.
Mulvy hasn’t sold any of Modu’s photographs so far. “We knew the prices were out of reach,” she says, but that’s not even the point. She gave a tour to a photography class from Montclair State University and says she’s happy to do the same for whoever walks in. She points to a photo of Tupac with a tattoo on his torso that says “Thug Life” and says softly, “That’s what killed him.”
The show, up through the end of the month, also features resin sculptures of hip-hop legends by Steven Cartoccio.
Chi x Jungle
Works by Chi Modu featuring sculptures by Steven Cartoccio
On display from Feb 28 – April 30, 2024
Ria x Art Gallery is located at 204 Bellevue Ave. Closed Sundays.