LA II, also known as Angel Ortiz, was born in 1967 in New York City’s Lower East Side. Known by various artistic monikers—LA II, LA2, or LA Rock, which stands for “Little Angel”—Ortiz’s tags are signature elements of his work. His career began at the age of 13 in 1980, when he met Keith Haring. A prominent graffiti artist from the Lower East Side in the 1980s, Ortiz collaborated closely with Haring on numerous projects. He left high school in Manhattan in 1983 to travel internationally with Haring, working together until 1985. Ortiz held a role in Haring’s career akin to that of Jean-Michel Basquiat with Andy Warhol. Today, LA II is celebrated as an iconic graffiti artist, emerging from the formidable shadow of Haring’s legacy. His work has been featured in exhibitions at prestigious galleries and museums worldwide, including the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York City in 1982, the Fun Gallery in New York City in 1983 alongside Haring, Galerie Watari in Tokyo, Robert Fraser Gallery in London, and the Special Projects Paint Fiorucci in Milan. Other notable exhibitions include the 1990 “Future Primeval” at the Queens Museum, the Follin Gallery in 2001, Clayton Patterson’s Outlaw Museum in 2002, “LA II & Keith Haring, Due amici a New York” in 2003, the Scope Art Fair in Los Angeles in 2004, and Galleria Leonardo in Bolzano in 2005. Today, LA II continues to live and work in New York.