Meet the prolific graffiti artist whose work is all over Chicago’s Northwest Side

Street artist Joos is perhaps best known for works that resemble ribbons of dissolving color, or paint that’s been pressure washed and left blooms of pigment behind. “It’s like, is it a shadow? Is it a silhouette? What is it? I think … he gets a kick out of tricking people, and making people take a second look at something,” said Robert Herguth, who profiled the artist last year. The distinctive graffiti caught the eye of Curious City listener Judy Glaser, who spotted the sprays of color on utility boxes on Milwaukee Ave. She wanted to know who created them, and why. Unlike many Chicago street artists, Joos came to the medium later in life, first picking up a spray paint can in his 30s. It wasn’t an easy journey to get where he is today — but it’s one that may have saved his life. Joos is perhaps best known for his abstract work on utility boxes, which have become known as ‘Joos boxes’. Jason Marck Joos setting up underneath the Wolcott St. Blue Line tracks in February 2024. Jason Marck / WBEZ On a recent Friday afternoon, Joos got set up under the CTA Blue Line tracks at...