Katsu. Drone Smile. 2015

Spray Paint on Canvas applied by an Autonomous Drone. 

KATSU, the enigmatic graffiti artist and innovator, has been pushing the boundaries of street art since the early 2000s, evolving from traditional tagging in New York City to pioneering tech-infused interventions that critique commercialism, privacy, and digital surveillance. Born Japanese-American and a Parsons graduate, he operates anonymously from Brooklyn (though some sources place him in San Francisco), blending hacker ethos with vandalism to create works that span extinguisher tags, AI-generated graffiti, and most famously, drone-based creations.   His breakthrough came in 2014 with the world’s first graffiti drone, dubbed ICARUS ONE—a custom quadcopter armed with a spray can, inspired by military tech and designed for remote mark-making, which he even shared as an open-source guide to democratize the tool.    This led to his infamous 2015 stunt: using a hacked DJI Phantom to scrawl red graffiti over Kendall Jenner’s face on a massive Calvin Klein billboard in NYC, sparking the “age of drone vandalism” and blurring lines between art, activism, and illegality. 

KATSU’s “Drone Smile” from 2015 is a striking example of his innovative fusion of graffiti roots with cutting-edge technology, marking a key piece in his drone-painting series.  This unique work measures 24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm) on canvas, with framed dimensions of 25 x 25 x 2.25 inches, and was created using spray paint applied via a custom-built drone that KATSU engineered himself—essentially a quadcopter rigged with a spray can to remotely splatter enamel in chaotic, abstract patterns.   The result is a large-scale, dripping smiley face that embodies themes of digital disruption, surveillance, and the mechanization of street art, pushing graffiti beyond traditional limits into a realm where machines become extensions of the artist’s hand. 

It debuted as part of his “Remember the Future” solo exhibition at The Hole gallery in New York, alongside other tech-infused works like terminator selfies, highlighting KATSU’s commentary on identity and automation in a post-digital age.  The piece’s raw, kinetic energy comes from the drone’s imprecise movements, creating organic yet mechanical abstractions in bold colors—typically reds, blacks, and whites—that evoke both playfulness and menace.

KATSU has since expanded on this concept, even releasing related “Drone Smile” poster series in late 2024, but the 2015 original remains a landmark in drone-assisted artistry.