Meet Bates — the Danish graffiti wizard who took his spray can from Copenhagen rooftops to galleries around the world. He started bombing walls as a teenager in the mid-1980s and quickly became one of Europe’s style masters, blending old-school New York wild-style with razor-sharp European lines and a neon palette that pops.

But don’t let the fun visuals fool you — Bates keeps the game serious. Whether it’s a train car, a warehouse wall, or a slick canvas, his letters flow, twist and soar with rhythm and attitude.

From tagging alongside legends in the late ’80s to showing in L.A., New York, Paris and Berlin, Bates is the kind of artist who proves graffiti never gets old—it just evolves.