Daze
Chris “Daze” Ellis emerged as a pioneering figure in New York’s graffiti movement during the 1970s and 80s. Beginning as a teenager painting the city’s subways and walls, his bold style quickly established him among the era’s most influential artists, alongside contemporaries such as Keith Haring, Dondi, and Lee Quiñones. Unlike many of his peers, Daze successfully bridged the gap between street art and the gallery world, becoming one of the few artists of his generation to transition seamlessly from public spaces to the studio. Today, his work stands as a testament to graffiti’s lasting cultural impact and its place within the wider art historical canon.
CHRIS, THANK YOU FOR PAINTING WITH US. TO BEGIN, WHAT INITIALLY DREW YOU TO WORKING WITH 4BYSIX ON THIS PROJECT?
I was inspired by the mission repurposing buses into canvases for artists felt authentic to my own roots painting trains. It had that same spirit of transforming everyday urban structures into something alive with culture.
HOW DOES THAT CONNECTION TO TRANSIT SUBWAYS IN YOUR YOUTH, BUSES WITH US NOW RESONATE IN YOUR PRACTICE?
Transit is the pulse of New York City. Subways and buses move people, energy, and stories. By painting on those surfaces, you’re capturing that rhythm and giving it back to the public in a different form.
CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH YOUR PROCESS WHEN APPROACHING THE PIECE YOU CREATED FOR US?
I always start with sketches that capture movement and atmosphere, then layer with spray paint, acrylic, and oil to build texture. For the 4BYSIX piece, I wanted it to feel immersive like stepping into a living fragment of the city.
YOUR WORK OFTEN MERGES REALISM WITH ABSTRACTION. HOW DID THAT PLAY OUT IN THIS PARTICULAR PAINTING?
I balanced recognisable New York figures, commuters, the architecture with washes of colour and abstract forms that suggest memory and speed. That duality reflects how we actually experience the city: concrete details mixed with fleeting impressions.
IN YOUR WORDS, WHAT STORY DOES THE 4BYSIX CANVAS TELL?
It’s about connection. People crossing paths in transit, moments that might seem ordinary but hold beauty when you pause and look closer. It’s the city’s poetry, painted on a bus that itself carries those very lives around.
YOU’VE OFTEN SAID NEW YORK IS YOUR MUSE. HOW DID THE CITY SHOW UP IN THIS WORK?
The energy, always. Even if I’m not painting a skyline or subway, the colors, the layering, the density of the brushwork it’s all New York. The 4BYSIX piece carries that same heartbeat.
LOOKING BACK AT YOUR CAREER - FROM GRAFFITI TRAINS TO MUSEUM WALLS, WHERE DOES THIS COLLABORATION SIT FOR YOU?
It feels like a circle completing itself. I began painting on moving vehicles to have my voice seen. Decades later, painting a bus with 4BYSIX lets me revisit that instinct but in a way that’s celebrated and shared openly.
WERE THERE ANY SPECIFIC CHALLENGES OR FREEDOMS IN WORKING ON THE BUS CANVAS?
The scale was freeing. It demanded big gestures, bold marks, and confidence. You can’t be timid on a surface like that, you have to let the city flow through you.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE FEEL WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER THIS WORK?
A sense of belonging. That this is their city, their daily rhythm reflected back with dignity and vibrancy. Art should remind us that we’re part of something larger than ourselves.
AND FINALLY, WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT PROJECTS LIKE THIS MOVING FORWARD?
That they keep the dialogue between street, institution, and community alive. Collaborations like ours remind me that art isn’t confined, it can live on walls, in museums, or on the side of a bus. The important thing is that it continues to move people, literally and figuratively.
