The Prodigal Returns
The Prodigal Returns

DAIN

Street art techniques are brought into a new light on canvas through DAIN's innovative mixed media works which blend the gritty with with glamorous.

bio

One of the most influential street artists to emerge from Brooklyn, New York, DAIN combines the visual language of graffiti with collaged portraits of Hollywood stars and fashion models. Crossing genres and often working single pieces back and forth between the street and studio, DAIN combines wheat pasting, silk-screening, spray paint, collage, and acrylic. His process begins with a black-and-white photo that he layers with old advertisements, printed fragments, logos, and miscellaneous smaller images. He then begins adding paint; his unmistakable trademark is the “circle and drip” around the eye of his subjects. DAIN views his work as a confrontation between the destructive gestures of graffiti and the femininity of his glamorous subjects.

DAIN’s works have been exhibited in collectives and solo shows in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Miami and New York City. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art in Berlin, alongside artists such as Banksy and Invader. In recent years, DAIN was commissioned for public mural projects in New York City by fashion, apparel, and entertainment companies including Coach, Puma, and Netflix, respectively.

DAIN

Dos Shows Nitely, 2023

Wheat-Paste, Acrylic, and Spray Paint on Canvas.

This electrifying piece showcases a stunning interplay of street art techniques and emotive expressiveness. Made utilizing various street art techniques, this artwork is a mesmerizing collage that combines vintage glamor with contemporary urban grit, featuring a glamorous woman whose eye is circled in vibrant red—a signature of DAIN's oeuvre. Set against a kaleidoscopic backdrop of abstract patterns and textual elements, this piece is a testament to the dynamic energy and layered complexity of the urban experience.

The circle and the drip are my trade marks. It’s something that just came about over time and I stuck with it. I did it so the focus of my subjects would be their eyes. The eyes of a person can speak a thousand words.

DAIN