Street Art Series | DAIN

Techniques

Wheatpaste, Collage, Silkscreen, Spray Paint, and Writing

Style

Self-described as classic glamour and beauty with a modern twist a la graff.

Locations Found

Chelsea, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Chinatown, Nolita, TriBeCa, Lower Manhattan, Red Hook, Williamsburg, and Bushwick

Quotes

“For me it is not so much who the celebrity is, but more about the expression of that person. The eyes can speak so much.” (Elle)

“I love black and white. You use your imagination in black and white.” (Brooklyn Street Art)

Notes

Most recognizable by that now signature dripping eye, DAIN’s work plays with the double meaning of glamour (having sophisticated taste and to be frozen with awe). This hypnotic quality stems from the gaze at the center of every piece: a meticulously crafted stare glancing out into a lucid dreamscape of urbanity. Hyper-saturated colors are painted over black and white cutouts. In DAIN’s world, what is seen is just as important as what is not.

DAIN creates magnificent figures of gender transgression: interesting queer forms constructed from the face of a woman, and the body of a man, then further transforming them through additional collage layers. Notice too the other gender signifiers hidden in the details of each piece. This is contemplation on, about, and with the female body. DAIN’s art inspires female empowerment while simultaneously offering criticism on today’s overexposure of the feminine form.

DAIN’s art is imagination and whimsy channeled through a skewed lens of high fashion and punk. DAIN’s pasteups are reminiscent of Rene Magritte’s early Surrealist illustration and ad work, but with street art styles used to further twist the original art deco influence. Through collage and deconstruction, DAIN turns the subjects of vintage glamour ads in on themselves, offering a means of considering beauty then and now. Think the modesty of Old Hollywood versus today’s unfettered celebrity access.