LA II (Angel Ortiz)

LA II, also known as Angel Ortiz, is a pioneering New York graffiti artist whose career emerged from the vibrant street art scene of the Lower East Side in the early 1980s. His career took a defining turn in 1980 when Keith Haring, newly arrived in New York from Pennsylvania, discovered Ortiz’s “Little Angel” tag on a city street and sought him out. Their meeting marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship and creative partnership, with LA II introducing Haring to The Non Stoppers (TNS), one of the most prominent street art crews of the era. Throughout the 1980s, the pair combined their distinctive visual languages across murals, sculptures, subway trains and found objects, with LA II’s energetic line work, symbols and intricate patterning recognised as an important influence on Haring’s developing solo practice. In 1983, aged just 16, Ortiz left high school to travel the world and work alongside Haring, collaborating until 1985.

Beyond his celebrated collaborations with Haring, LA II has worked with artists including Kenny Scharf, Richard Hambleton, Delta 2, Stik, ERO and Cindy Shaoul. His work has been exhibited and collected by major institutions including The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, the Museum of Graffiti in Miami, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and Pepperdine University. Today, LA II is recognised as an important figure in the history of New York street art, with his work reflecting the energy and creativity of the Lower East Side during one of the most transformative periods in contemporary art.