MadC

Claudia Walde, known as MadC, was born in 1980 in Bautzen, Germany, and grew up in Ethiopia. She painted her first graffiti piece in 1996 at the age of sixteen. After studying at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle and Central Saint Martins in London, she earned a master's degree in graphic design, laying the groundwork for a practice that bridges lettering, calligraphy and abstraction.

International recognition came in 2010 with the "700-Wall," a mural stretching over seven hundred feet that she painted single-handedly in Miami during Art Basel over four months — widely considered one of the largest graffiti murals by a single artist. In 2018, she surpassed her own record with the "1000-Wall" in Chicago. Her style has evolved from wildstyle lettering toward bold abstract compositions with transparent, glass-like layers and energetic calligraphic forms, drawing on influences from Van Gogh to the British graffiti artist Dare.

The author of two books published by Thames & Hudson — "Sticker City" in 2007 and "Street Fonts" in 2011 — she has painted murals from New York to Abu Dhabi. Her work appears on Google Arts & Culture, and she is represented by HENI and exhibited at Urban Nation in Berlin.