KHALID SABREE
Biography-
Khalid Sabree aka “KHA-Tees” Is a multidisciplinary artist based in Harlem, New York. His art is often centered around quotes of legendary political and religious thinkers such as Dr. W.E.B. Dubois and The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Sabree sees his work as rooted in the intellectual and spiritual ideologies that have most significantly impacted African-Americans' perception of themselves and the world that they navigate within. As a child, Sabree's mother encouraged him and his siblings to draw and paint.. He began his art career painting comic book characters such as Spider-Man and
Superman, as well as television cartoon figures such as “Fat Albert.” When he got older, he painted abstract graffiti images, inspired by the drawings he saw on commercial buildings and handball courts in his Harlem neighborhood.
Sabree says that his work was influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a pioneer of Neo-Expressionism.
He also credits Romare Bearden's collage “The Block” (1971) about Harlem as being important to the development of his assemblages. Sabree used found objects such as wood crates and sneaker boxes that he collected on the streets of New York City to express his vision about his Harlem community.
Sabree is a graduate of the High School of Art and Design. He went to receive a BFA from New York University, where he studied fine art. He went on to study graphic design at Parsons School of Design for 2 years. Sabree is a recipient of the Andrew Freedman Artist-In-Residence Program (2012-2013). Over the years, he has exhibited extensively throughout the New York metropolitan area. Most recently, he exhibited at the Black Boy Art Show at Brooklyn Navy Yard (2025) and the Harlem Fine Arts Show at The Glass House (2024).

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I create paintings that live at the intersection of word, color, and history. Born and raised in Harlem, I work under the name KHA-Tees, drawing from the visual energy of graffiti, the rhythm of jazz, and the legacy of Black thought. My canvases often feature text — fragments of quotes, names, or phrases — layered in bold color fields, echoing both street walls and sacred scripts. The inspirations behind my practice are deeply rooted in community and cultural memory. I reference political and spiritual figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as well as musicians like Nas, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, whose words and sounds have shaped generations. Their voices act as both guideposts and sparks, helping me reimagine Harlem as a living archive and a site of future possibility. My recent works move toward a more distilled visual language — still vibrant, but pared down, allowing color, line, and text to resonate more directly. Each piece is a conversation between abstraction and narrative, a negotiation of presence and history. I see my paintings as both personal meditations and public statements, carrying forward Harlem’s creative legacy while opening space for new dialogue. Through my work, I hope to affirm Black resilience and imagination while inviting viewers into moments of reflection, confrontation, and transcendence.