CHANGART GALLERY has invited Chris "Daze" Ellis (b. 1962), the pioneer of graffiti art in the U.S., to hold his first solo show in China from November 16 to December 31, offering a chance for the Chinese art sector to further explore graffiti art. Also known as "Urban Art," Graffiti Art is a one-of-a-kind art movement founded on the strong energy of the youth combined with urban functionality. It began with street and subway murals but has since become a popular art that brings art closer to the urban environment and the general public for better communication between the two. It also has a critical influence on the art, music, and fashion of the 21st century.
 
Chris Ellis, better known by his nickname, "Daze," was born in New York in 1962 and has become the center of New York's urban art since the end of the 1970s. Daze, as the leading graffiti artist of the U.S., gained popularity by creating murals for the New York subways in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1970s, New York was characterized by its infamous dangers and filthiness. Young artists made the streets of New York their canvas and filled the dark backstreets and subways of the city with their unique creations. That was the beginning of New York's graffiti art. The first generation of graffiti enthusiasts worked at the subways at night to create underground artworks on the walls. Some of the graffiti art worshippers with better insights, however, took those artworks off the walls and into their apartments. (Today, those drawings are even more valuable than several apartment homes). Daze's first sale was a collaborative work with Basquiat-a refrigerator combining collages and paintings requested by Mud Club, a new performance hall that opened in Manhattan in 1980, which sold for USD200.
 
In 1980, New York's "Time Square Show" officially introduced graffiti art as an art genre. It was a massive exhibition with many of Daze's colleagues, including Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lee Quinones, Alez Vallauri, Andorow, Whitton, and Jetfire. In 1982, Manhattan's Sidney Janis Gallery (which brought many of the trends and movements of post-modernist art into the mainstream) introduced the first Urban Art showcase in New York, titled "Post Graffiti." Daze was one of the first-generation graffiti artists who participated in this show. As they attracted greater social interest, these artists left the streets and entered galleries and art museums.
 
Moreover, there came about a global trend in the late '70s and early '80s where underground art intruded the fields of fashion, design, and advertising, drawing graffiti art even closer to the public's everyday lives. Surprisingly, graffiti art has spread to various sectors of the society, not to mention advertisements and corporate promotions, but it is still considered taboo in some aspects. As a kid, Daze never thought that he would see his works on the walls of Brooklyn Art Museum or other famous art museums around the world. Considering the list of museums in which Daze has held exhibitions, however, there is no doubt that graffiti art has become a major part of contemporary art. Daze has held an enormous number of exhibitions (about 40 solo shows and 250 exhibitions) and has been invited by several countries around the world to showcase his works therein. He has worked with Grand Palais in Paris, Brooklyn Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Cartier Foundation, and participated in an invitational exhibition of the Brazilian government and in Italy's Tuscany Sun Festival.
 
Many of Daze's artworks are already being showcased around the world and have been purchased by famous art museums and galleries, including Cartier Foundation, New York City Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art in New York, Brooklyn Art Museum, Ludwig Art Museum in Germany, and Tate Gallery in England. The artist has not forgotten his works on the streets, though, and has been actively creating murals for the last 20 years. Working with major corporations, such as Chase Manhattan, as well as local community organizations, he is also devoted to improving the environment for the benefit of the people around the world, especially the children. As a successful artist and the pioneer of graffiti art, he is creating many public artworks. It is known that many famous celebrities, such as Madonna and Eric Clapton, are big fans of this celebrity artist and are collecting his works.