In this three-part series, artnet News aims to find the best and brightest street artists working today, from known entities to emerging artists flying under the radar. See Part I here and Part II here.
21. Maupal
His works may get washed off the walls of Rome within hours, but the Italian street artist still manages to make noise with his pointedly hopeful depictions of Pope Francis, most notably as “Superpope.”
Meres One, G-star raw (2015). Courtesy of Meres One.
22. Meres One
The visionary mind behind the former graffiti mecca 5Pointz in Queens, New York, Meres One is so dedicated to his craft that his personal motto is “I don’t do graff, I am graff.”
Mural on Kenmare Street in New York by Mint and Serf. Courtesy of David Forer/the L.I.S.A Project NYC.
23. Mint & Serf
The brothers may have lamented the loss of the “underground element” of street art to artnet News’s Anthony Haden-Guest in 2015, but that didn’t stop them from having a secret pop-up exhibition at a condemned New York parking garage.
Olek crocheted a covering for this obelisk in Santiago, Chile. Courtesy of Olek.
24. Olek
Olek’s crocheted creations aren’t what one normally thinks of when one hears street art—all the more reason that her brightly-colored work is exciting for breaking open boundaries. Whether she’s adorning the Astor Place Cube with her creation or creating an astonishingly large billboard supporting Hillary Clinton, Olek’s work is surprisingly at home in an urban setting.
A mural by REVOK. Courtesy of REVOK.
25. REVOK
Sometimes street artists don’t survive the transition to the gallery, but Los Angeles graffiti legend Revok is finding new ways to push the medium, showing in the white cube with the city street signs he once painted illegally, now purchased from the manufacturers.
Kenny Scharf, TotemOh, on the East River Esplanade. Courtesy of NYC Parks/Malcolm Pinckney.
26. Kenny Scharf
On the scene since the early 1980s, Kenny Scharf may have traded the grit of New York’s East Village for laid-back Los Angeles, but his street art work is still no less essential.
Slinkachu, Shore Line, from the “Little People” series. Courtesy of Slinkachu.
27. Slinkachu
Forget in-your-face murals and graffiti—Slinkachu is all about subtlety, with miniature street installations that play on scale and setting in delightful ways.
A mural by Stik. Courtesy of Stik.
28. Stik
The appropriately-named Stik elevates the stick figure to an art form, imbuing his colorful works around London with socially-conscious messages about empathy and unity.
A work by Swoon. Courtesy of editrrix via Flickr Creative Commons.
29. Swoon
The queen of wheatpaste, Swoon, creates gorgeous portraits that slowly decay over time. In 2014, the New York-based artist broke into the art world with a large-scale installation at the Brooklyn Museum, and has been gaining ground ever since.
VHILS, Dame Dorothy Tangney BDE at Australi’a Norfolk Hotel Artwork Freemantle 2013 Street Arts Festival. Courtesy of Mel, via Wikimedia Commons.
30. VHILS
The Portuguese street artist stands out from others in the field by eschewing the spray paint can in favor of chisels and power drills, carving dramatic relief sculptures into the sides of buildings.