New York has one of the most prominent street art scenes in the world, and the city's walls are constantly in flux. With the artwork regularly changing and many players on the grid, it can be hard to know what and whom to look for. We chose eight of our favorite New York City street artists whose work you will undoubtedly notice if you keep and eye out around the city...
Here are our picks!
Rubin415's work appears all over New York City, so keep an eye out! This Scandinavian artist creates large-scale works with no stencils or guides. His impressively controlled-looking geometric forms are created free-hand and based on sketches he prepares for the space. Rubin has an affinity for the thrill that stems from his true street art origins and is now fulfilled through the commissioned murals he does from scaffolding high off the ground. With a number of projects across the Big Apple in store for this summer, who knows where we will see him popping up next?
Buenos Aires-born and Brooklyn-based, Sonni is a Jack-of-all-trades who was trained in graphic design and worked as an art director prior to pursuing his passion for creating street art. Basing his artwork on nostalgic imagery and colors, this artist's work maintains a central focus on childhood sentimentality and aims to recreate these lost moments within the viewer. Working in a variety of media, Sonni's bright and cheery pieces are sure to put a smile on your face.
Photo Credit: TheDustyRebel
Frank Ape’s cheeky character (pictured above) is posed in a variety of ways all over Manhattan, making statements like, “art history”, “enjoy every sandwich”, and “go back to sleep”. This guy is hard to miss if you are a New Yorker on the lookout for him. The mastermind behind the persona Frank Ape is Brandon Sines, whose practice extends further than just this character. Aside from his prominent street art, Brandon is a practicing artist based in Astoria, Queens and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!
Faust is a rising star in the New York City street art scene. His work combines conventional graffiti tagging with traditional calligraphy, generating a special genre of street art. The graffiti artist, with an incomparable hand at penmanship, has made a name for himself globally. The dual nature of his work that so eloquently combines funky NYC "street-cred" style and elements of chic-ness creates a timeless and universal aesthetic. It is no surprise that his work has been featured in exhibits at the MoMA and the Grand Palais in Paris.
Photo Credit: Martha Cooper
Perhaps you caught her Bowery mural a few years back? This Ukrainian artist based in Brooklyn creates the most playful, large-scale, color abstractions we've seen yet. Talk about Instagram-able! With a practice that takes inspiration from pop culture and psychedelia, Maya Hayuk is gaining notoriety far and wide. We adore her beautiful work, and we have our fingers crossed that we will see more from her around the city soon.
Originally from The Netherlands, street artist Eelco Van Den Berg now splits his time between Amsterdam and New York City. The artist's large scale, bright, and friendly murals often depict a range of animals, from owls to bunnies and foxes. His work was inspired by what he refers to as "the hip hop virus", which stems from the overlapping origins of graffiti and hip hop music and dance.
Joe Iurato is a New York City-based street artist whose work often depicts his two sons, as well as a variety of other (mostly) human subjects. More recently, the Iurato has drifted from a traditional stenciling and aerosol method to a technique quite unique to his practice. He creates site-specific wood cutouts painted as figures, documents them by photograph, and ultimately leaves his pieces to be consumed by their environments.
Chris Stain is an old-school graffiti artist from Baltimore who has mastered 1970's-style street art. The established artist has recently gained additional acclaim for his work with Netflix original series "The Get Down", a show based in the 1970's that explores the evolution of hip hop. Stain's work often depicts layers of traditional graffiti and wall tags, mixed with a more contemporary style. Ultimately he creates a vision that is totally unique to the artist himself, and we definitely respect it!
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