DAZE (B. 1962)

Chris “Daze” Ellis is a New York City based graffiti artist, starting off in high school in the 1970s, writing on the subways as he rode them. He is considered one of the pioneers of the street and graffiti art movement, which rose to popularity in the 1980s. He successfully brought art from the streets into the studios and to many private and permanent collections.

In New York in the 1980s, Daze collaborated with fellow street artist Crash and other members of the community to create "outlaw installations" in abandoned buildings and old handball courts. These installations were experimental creative environments composed of anything the young and resourceful artists could get their hands on. Soon enough, these "outlaw installations" caught the attention of the more traditional downtown art scene, and Daze took his craft a step further by bringing the ethos of the street onto the canvas.