LA2 (Angel Ortiz)

Biography

Picture LA2 (Angel Ortiz)

Born in 1967 in New York.
L.A. II is the "tag" or alias taken by Angel Ortiz, a young graffiti artist from the Lower East Side of New York City. L.A. stands for "Little Angel." He also occasionally used the tag L.A. Rock or L.A. 2.

When he was 13 or 14 years old, Ortiz was befriended by artist Keith Haring and they collaborated on a number of works from 1981 to 1984. Haring felt Ortiz' "tag" style stood out from that of other New York graffiti writers. It seemed to resemble Asian calligraphy done. Haring and Ortiz began combining their styles to create an overall surface of intermingling lines. Haring said, "All the work [Angel and I did] was about surface and usually covers or transforms the object it is applied to." They covered Day-Glo painted plaster sculptures, real objects, or room-sized installations with a kind of graffiti writing that was a mixture of contemporary and ancient symbols.

Now LA2 is still an young artist, recognizable, with his tag and style, but covered by the greatness of Keith Haring. LA2, from Haring, have visibility and shadows. His market is waiting for new situations, because in effect, LA2 is for Haring the same that Jean-Michel Basquiat was for Andy Warhol. But, fortunatly, He is still in life, and his art adventure is only at the beginning.


Selected One-Man Exhibitions:

1982 Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York City, with Keith Haring

1983 Fun Gallery, New York City, with Keith Haring
Galerie Watari, Tokyo, Japan, with Keith Haring
Robert Fraser Gallery, London, United Kingdom, with Keith Haring
Special Projects Paint Fiorucci, Milan, Italy, with Keith Haring
Paint Building in Tokyo, Japan, with Keith Haring

1984 Salvatore Ala Gallery, Milan, Italy, with Keith Haring

1990 Future Primeval Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows
Corona Park, New York with Keith Haring
University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, with Keith Haring
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida, with Keith Haring

2001 Follin Gallery, New York City
Jeffrey Deitch, New York City, with Keith Haring, (traveling exhibition

2002 Clayton Patterson Outlaw Museum, New York City
Marco Art, New York City

2003 LA II & Keith Haring, Due amici a New York negli anni '80, Putignano Arte, NOCI (Bari)

2004 Scope Art Fair, Los Angeles, Ca.

2005 Galleria Leonardo Galerie, Bolzano, Italy.

Selected Group Exhibitions:

1983 Pittsburgh Center For the Arts, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with Keith Haring

2001 Max Fish, New York City

2002 Kitting Factory, Los Angeles, California2002 Kitting Factory, Los Angeles, California
Pino Pascali museum, in Polignano a Mare(Bari)- Italy

2005
Galleria Leonardo Galerie, Bolzano - Italy

For the latest exhibitions of the artist, please see the Appointments' Archive