DAZE paints new mural in Quattordio for 40th anniversary of landmark graffiti show

New York street artist DAZE (Chris Ellis) has completed a new mural in Quattordio, a small town in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont. The work is part of the ongoing QUA – Quattordio Urban Art project, which was launched in 2017 by brothers Alessandro and Marco KayOne Mantovani, curators of Milan's Stradedarts gallery. The mural celebrates the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking 1984 exhibition 'Arte di Frontiera. New York Graffiti', which was the first to bring American street art to Italy. Curated by Francesca Alinovi, that show toured Bologna, Rome, and Milan, featuring works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Kenny Scharf. During the exhibition, four participating artists—Delta 2, Ero, Phase 2, and Rammellzee—were invited by Industrie Vernici Italiane, the event's sponsor, to visit Quattordio. They spent days creating graffiti around the town, including a collective mural in Piazza Pettazzi, which later fell into disrepair. In late 2015, the Mantovani brothers restored that mural and conceived a permanent outdoor museum, leading to the first QUA event in 2017. DAZE's new piece is the 31st work in the permanent urban museum. He participated in the original 1984 exhibition and his mural pays homage to that show and the four New York artists who first painted in Quattordio. The mural was created during the last weekend of May 2024, accompanied by festivities including free access to the QUA MUSEUM and an Urban Art Tour.