Fifty years ago, a photocopied zine from downtown New York changed music, art, and media forever. Today, the gallery that grew up in punk’s shadow is bringing it home.

 

Featured artists and photographers: Roberta Bayley, Bruce Carleton, R. Crumb, Lou Reed, Hal Drellich, Shepard Fairey, Danny Fields, SCREAMING MAD GEORGE, GODLIS, Bobby Grossman, Bob Guren, Tom Hearn, Danny Hellman, John Holmstrom, Bob Krasner, Rose Lasagne, Dennis Letbetter, Johnny Moondog, Cliff Mott, Niagara, James Rubio, Elleen Polk, Dustin Pop, Joey Ramone, Robert Romagnoli, Chris Stein, Steve W. Taylor, Debra "Raffles" Tripodi, Ken Weiner, and Rufus Dayglo

 

Special Contributors: Brian Eno, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, David Byrne, Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, Bob 1, Joan Jett

 

PUNK didn't just cover music, it was rock 'n' roll on paper: It hyped the Ramones months before their first album was released, brought Blondie to print, and turned fanzine culture into something bolder, louder, and more visual. Critics dismissed it as too "image-heavy," but that's exactly what made it iconic. PUNK was the first to publish now-famous photographers Roberta Bayley and Godlis, and writers Mary Heron and Legs McNeil.

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PUNK Magazine also published artwork by artists and cartoonists: Robert Crumb, Bruce Carleton, Bobby London, Danny Hellman, Cliff Mott, Screaming Mad George, and PUNK’s Creator John Holmstrom. When Rough Trade imported thousands of copies of PUNK Magazine #3 to England in early 1976, it helped fuel the Ramones’ legendary 1976 Roundhouse show; That was the spark that lit the punk tock movement. For many years, people thought punk started in London! But now? The world knows: Punk rock started at CBGB with the Ramones and PUNK Magazine!  To celebrate the birth of the punk movement, Ki Smith Gallery is staging a very unique art exhibition that will present the best of “50 Years of PUNK!”. It will open on November 28, 2025, 50 years after the day PUNK Magazine interviewed the Ramones and Lou Reed at CBGB. It will close on January 11, when the first issues of PUNK #1 were sold at CBGB’s. Presenting the exhibition, our partner Ilegal Mezcal.

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Ilegal has a long, storied relationship with music, across genres and cultures. Opened by Ilegal founder John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé, the original home of Ilegal Mezcal, has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala.

 

Our connection continues to expand, with our Bar Ilegal tour, though our media partnership with Paste Magazine, and through our activations with venue partners Forest Hills Stadium, Greetings From Rockaway, Fogg Street Live, and Hotel Vegas.

 

Ilegal Mezcal is honored to support the 50th Anniversary of Punk Magazine, hosted at the iconic Ki Smith Gallery in the Lower East Side of NYC. Presenting the exhibition, our partner Ilegal Mezcal.

 

Ilegal has a long, storied relationship with music, across genres and cultures. Opened by Ilegal founder John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé, the original home of Ilegal Mezcal, has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala.

 

Our connection continues to expand, with our Bar Ilegal tour, though our media partnership with Paste Magazine, and through our activations with venue partners Forest Hills Stadium, Greetings From Rockaway, Fogg Street Live, and Hotel Vegas.

 

Ilegal Mezcal is honored to support the 50th Anniversary of Punk Magazine, hosted at the iconic Ki Smith Gallery in the Lower East Side of NYC.