DAIN

DAIN is an American contemporary artist who blends the visual language of graffiti with collage-style portraits of classic Hollywood stars. By transforming familiar imagery into urban, deconstructed likenesses of 1950s screen icons, he has built a reputation as one of New York's most influential street artists. Every piece starts with a black-and-white photograph, which he places within a surreal collage world assembled from vintage ads, logos, and cut-out magazine text. The figures strike a range of stereotypically "feminine" poses, highlighted by his signature motif — a circled, dripping eye that resembles a graffiti-style monocle. His work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions across Paris, Berlin, Rome, Miami, and New York City, and is included in the permanent collection of Berlin's Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art, displayed alongside Banksy and Invader. In 2018, fashion and apparel brands including Coach and Puma commissioned DAIN for public mural projects in New York City.