Daze Biography
Daze (1962 - ), pen name of Chris Ellis, was born in 1962 in New York City, and began his prolific career painting New York City subway cars in 1976 while attending the High School of Art and Design. He remains one of the few artists of his generation to successfully transition from the underground to the studio. His first group exhibition was the seminal “Beyond Words” at the Mudd Club in 1981. Shortly thereafter his first solo exhibition was held at Fashion Moda, an influential alternative art space in the South Bronx. A year later Sammlung Ludwig, Aachen, Germany acquired the first painting for their permanent collection. His notable solo exhibitions over the years include: Sidney Janis Gallery (USA, 1984), Palais du Liechtenstein (Austria, 1999), Musée d'art Moderne (France, 1999), Galleria del Palazzo (Italy, 1998). Daze has completed many public art projects such as: a mural for The Star Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong in 1993, completing the project for an entire train station together with artists Lee and Crash (Germany, 1995), a mural for the Dreamland Social Club, Creative Time in 2004, and served as an art consultant for Baz Luhrmann's Netflix series "The Get Down", 2017. Daze's paintings have been found in many private collections including those of Eric Clapton, Natalie Imbruglia and Madonna. Finally, his original works can also be found in the permanent collections of The Whitney Museum, Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of the City of New York.
