Sally Kirchell, Author at Art-Pie

Street art has come a long way since it broke onto the scene in the 80s, gradually evolving from being an art form that spread socially provocative messages into a more accessible, mainstream medium that has been widely accepted all around the world. Urban art graces the streets of cities big and small, and occasionally there comes along a piece that you just have to stop and admire.

Here are some of the top 10 urban artists of 2015:

1. Icy and Sot

Icy and Sot, a duo of 2 brothers from Iran who moved to Brooklyn in just 2012, have gone on to produce murals that showcase their beliefs perfectly. This mural at Welling Court made in 2015 is no exception, providing a strong critique of American capitalism.

2. Replete

What is the secret of this eye-popping illusion? Replete, a Leeds-based street artist will tell you. He is pioneering an innovative street art technique of painting his images on multiple layers of cling film, making for a 3D illusion and a fantastic work of street art.

3. Tristan Eaton

Born in Los Angeles in 1978, Tristan began pursuing street art as a teenager, painting everything from walls to billboards in the urban landscape wherever he lived, including London, Detroit and Brooklyn. In 2012, Tristan moved back to his childhood home of Los Angeles to pursue his paintings and large scale mural projects full-time.

Tristan’s work can be seen in galleries around the world and in the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

This mural in Kaka’Ako, Hawaii is a great example of how a wall can be an amazing canvas for someone of the talents of Triston.

4. Nychos

Nychos is an urban art and graffiti illustrator from Austria, and this massive work of art is one of his biggest and best yet.

He was born into an Austrian hunting family in South Africa and spent much of his childhood seeing things which many ‘normal’ people would consider cruel or even brutal. For Nychos though, it was a fascinating world. He recounts how he saw a dead baby lamb being consumed by maggots the same colour as its fur, Instead of being horrified, he was fascinated by it.

He studied the hidden insides of animals and noticed the way life often grows from other life. At the same time, he was also a child of the 80s, growing up watching cartoons and being influenced by their flashy bright colors.
This was painted in his hometown of Vienna, Austria, and is called Dissection of a Polar Bear.

5. Markus Pilgrim

Born in Berlin in 1980 Pilgrim bases himself in this vibrant city, however Pilgrim hasn’t forgotten how different an identity this controversial city had before the Berlin Wall was taken down in 1989. Growing up in the eastern part of Berlin the secretive political unrest of this time inhibited his freedom of speech and opinions, resulting in this anonymous method of artistic expression combined with political satire. He often sneaked out late at night to create provocative political statements about the injustices of that era and his artistic graffiti career has continued to progress since his early teenage years, now creating his vibrant artworks on canvas for all to enjoy freely.

Pilgrim is a pioneer in the emerging sub movement called ‘Pop Fusion’ now using a variety of methods such as graffiti , digital art and painting to create art such as his recent collection called ‘Animalistic Aristocracy’.

6. Ben Angotti

Brooklyn resident Ben Angotti works in many different mediums to display images of violence and beauty. He is highly influenced by many different art forms; from classical Renaissance and Baroque art, Asian art and Symbolism to modern Graffiti art and Erotica. Often, he weaves these themes together to create pulpy paintings, often with allusions to modern culture and carnal delights.

This mural is called Interstellar Geisha, it’s a classic example of Angotti stretching his talents over a variety of art styles, including sculptures and traditional paintings. He can depict the human form like no other, using vivid color schemes to bring his murals and paintings to life.

7. Lake

Lake is the second Street Artist from Berlin, Germany to make this list, the street artist is known for creating unique and exceptional artwork across the world. His creativity and genius is evident through this piece of art created on a Guadalajara rooftop. He’s certainly a street artist for the ages!

8. Dasic

Dasic (full name Dasic Fernandez) was fascinated at a young age by Chile’s burgeoning hip-hop culture of the 1990s, he searched for a way to engage with it in public spaces. By the age of 14, he had found his answer in graffiti art. Today, at 24, the Santiago-born artist is a muralist of rising fame whose works that dot the urban landscapes across the Americas.

He has been a part of the NYC street art scene for years, and this painting sums up exactly what he has been providing the city of New York all these years – bright, colourful, vibrant and thought-provoking works of street art that just reach out to your soul

9. Art is Trash

Currently on tour in the United States, Francisco De Pajaro, who also goes by the name of Art is Trash, is originally from Barcelona, Spain and is known for literally making the best out of waste. He uses rubbish bags, abandoned furniture and debris to create art that works as a mirror for those who see it, reflecting our boundless, desperate consumerism and our obsession with power. It disappears fast—sometimes as soon as it is finished.

He makes even the most undesirable and discarded things in the city into amazing pieces of art through his simplistic characters and illustrations.

10. Mender

Mender has been one of the artists to look out for this year, creating works that comment on the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin. The artist works with sculpture, collage, and other print techniques to get his messages out to the world. Bringing awareness and spreading messages through the mediums of graffiti and printmaking are slowly bringing his work into the eyes of people in NYC.

This article was written by Sally Kirchell, owner of Beyond a Word, specialists in Personalised Art Gifts

Back in 2008, a group of teenagers were sent to jail in the UK in lieu of defacing public property. Yet while they were being imprisoned here, their work was being hailed in the New York gallery. There is only one word that can be used to describe how the UK as a society views graffiti street art – confusion.The confusion now runs deeper than the hide and seek between those who have a can and spray, and those that remove that paint off the wall.

With news such as the imprisonment of the Graffiti artists, the common perception starts to develop that the state is against such street art and perceives it to be a crime. Yet, just a few blocks away from the Southwark Crown court that passed the judgment on the graffiti artists is a Major museum that displays large murals of six distinguished street artists.

It is interesting to note that most street artists consider London in the 21st century to be for street art what Paris was in the 20th Century to Impressionism. The journey of street art in London has been and continues to be turbulent. A large number of people show displeasure at the artists, and think of them as villains disfiguring the beauty of their city. However, a growing majority loves London’s very own modern street art.

London’s street art isn’t conventional or identical to street arts around the globe. Street art in London has its own style. The artists use elegance and punk to their advantage to create murals and artworks that can seem like high quality museum quality art products. With the passage of time though, the works of street artists have started to be given importance in different circles. Some of the work has even been placed in top quality museums.

Street art exhibition at Tate Modern | Art-Pie — The Tate had a major Street Art show back in 2008

Banksy is the man widely accredited for taking street art into museums. He started by sneaking his works into smaller museums. Ultimately, there came a time when his books were being sold in high quality stores and his works auctioned for hundreds of thousands of pounds. His works and antics were followed by a large group of imitators. He can be accredited with having influenced the current crop of up and coming street artists. His work showed them the potential success that can be achieved by a street artist despite the odds.

Banksy | Art-Pie — One of the most famous Banksy’s pieces

Let see the street art and its definition as crime in the world over. There are countries in the world where there is clear consensus against street art and then there are countries that are relaxed about it and think of such art as a sign of the liberty of their people. In Brazil for instance, the people are more relaxed about street art, with large works of street art dedicated to famous footballers unveiled during the recently concluded Football World Cup (Read our story about street art and the 2014 Brazilian World cup). In Australia, there is a large majority of people who look down upon street art and consider art works on walls as an infringement of their rights. However, there are many people there who appreciate street art.

Street art in the UK and the world over is a highly polarizing phenomenon. There are views like the ones that regard street art as painting on the streets and not attempts at hurting or injuring anyone. They think of street art as something to be appreciated and cherished rather than white washed and destroyed. And yet there are those people who view street art as an industrial level attempt to de-beautify and infringe on the individual’s property and his rights.

While Street art continues to divide opinions on its criminality or legality, it has turned out to be a marketing campaign for leading brands like Red Bull, Puma, and Adidas etc. All these brands have tried to cash in on the increasing popularity of graffiti and street art in the UK.

Red Bull & street art | Art-Pie — Some people reject the marriage of marketing & street art

Street art has always divided opinions and it is highly unlikely any consensus will be reached soon. One thing, however, is sure – street art is starting to revolutionize the art industry in the world.

Whether the revolution is positive or negative is a matter of opinion.

Art-Pie

All posts by Sally Kirchell

The Top 10 Urban Artists of 2015