Chris “DAZE” Ellis: Dark Green Daze
24th June, 2025 until September 2025
Dark Green Studios
Private residence, San Rafael, Ibiza
The New York street art pioneer DAZE unveils Dark Green Daze—a private, immersive exhibition in Ibiza that redefines how contemporary art is experienced.
Chris “DAZE” Ellis, one of the foundational voices of New York’s late-1970s graffiti movement, has debuted his first-ever exhibition on the island of Ibiza. Titled Dark Green Daze, the show is presented by Dark Green Studios and coincides with the 2025 CAN Art Fair. Rather than occupying a conventional gallery, the exhibition is installed inside a private residence in San Rafael, viewable by appointment only.
Ellis, who rose to prominence painting New York City subway carriages in his teens, was part of a generation that included Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. His work, once confined to public infrastructure, is now held in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum. In Dark Green Daze, Ellis unveils a suite of new paintings and installations that continue his exploration of urban energy and human vulnerability—now refracted through the sunlight and stillness of the Balearic Islands.
The exhibition features 20 original canvases, large-scale sculptural elements, and a selection of homeware objects, including a limited-edition ceramic series. Presented in a domestic setting rather than a traditional white-cube space, the show invites viewers into a more tactile, intimate encounter with the work.
Curated by Michael Doohan, founder of Dark Green Studios and a long-standing friend and collector of Ellis’s work, the exhibition reflects more than a decade of shared dialogue. “We didn’t want this to feel like a typical show,” Doohan said. “This is about creating a space where people can live with the work, engage with it, and feel part of the story.”
Founded with the aim of reshaping how art is presented and experienced, Dark Green Studios frequently stages exhibitions beyond the boundaries of the commercial art world—eschewing galleries and art fairs in favour of more informal, community-led environments. Its recent initiatives include a newly launched foundation and an artist residency programme in Ibiza, intended to support emerging talent and foster cross-cultural exchange.
To mark the opening of Dark Green Daze, the studio hosted a private preview on 24 June 2025, bringing together artists, collectors and curators in a relaxed setting that mirrored the ethos of the exhibition. The evening served not so much as a formal unveiling but as a communal moment, underscoring the studio’s broader vision: to expand the ways in which contemporary art is encountered, lived with and understood.
Chris “DAZE” Ellis: Dark Green Daze opens on the 24th of June, 2025 until September 2025
at Dark Green Studios, San Rafael, Ibiza
©2025 DAZE
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