Arguably the most controversial street artist in the world!
His work has become a subculture in their own right, his political
statements and disruptive vision have impacted cities across the globe
at vital moments in modern history, provoking alternative viewpoints
and encouraging revolution in the art world.
His identity remains unknown, even after more than 30 years of
involvement in the global graffiti scene.
He has worked in many street art mediums and in many styles, breaking
down the boundaries and expectations of street art critics. His work
includes powerful, often controversial images, encouraging the rapid
spread of his name and work across the internet.
Today, his iconic works have been re-shared and repurposed beyond
measure.
Lady Pink
One of the first and only female capable of competing with the boys in
the graffiti subculture.
Sandra Fabara, “Lady Pink" (Ecuadorean, born in 1964), is a New York
-based graffiti artist.
She attended the High School of Art & Design, she then worked as a
graffiti artist in New York, especially in the subway system, from 1979
to 1985.
Her artwork became more political and she combined themes of fantasy
and spirituality with South American and indigenous iconography. She also
focuses on issues affecting women and those living in U.S. urban
environments.
She was featured in the influential 1983 film Wild Style, and her
work is held in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the
Walker Art Center, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Shepard Fairey
A very famous graphic artist, muralist, and overall artist.
Frank "Shepard Fairey" was born on February 15, 1970, in Charleston,
South Carolina. In 1988, he graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy in
Palm Springs, California. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the
Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island in 1992.
He was a skateboard-obsessed art student, then realized his desire
and interest in the street art culture and graffiti movement.
His work has been used in screen-prints, stencils, masking
film illustrations, collages, sculptures, posters, paintings,
and murals.
He enjoys working with the colors black, white, and red. Fairey has
constantly shifted between the realms of fine art, commercial art, street
art, and even political art.
Eduardo Kobra
The continuously evolving kaleidoscope street artist is certainly
something to take note of.
Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra utilizes bright colors and bold lines
while staying true to a kaleidoscope theme throughout his art.
The technique of repeating squares and triangles allows him to bring
to life the famous people he depicts in his images.
This checkered pattern, filled with different textures, lines, and
shading, builds up to Eduardo Kobra’s final masterpiece, a larger-than-
life mural for all to see and marvel at.
His early works were only painted in Brazil, however the rest of his
career took him to paint in different countries around the world like the
USA, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Russia,
Japan and India.
Lady AIKO
Joyfully, subversively feminine Japanese icon!
She was born and raised in Tokyo before moving to New York City in
the mid-1990′s.
Already creating art from a young age, her art career in NYC began
when she started working for Takashi Murakami. She apprenticed in
Murakami’s studio in Brooklyn and worked for him until the late 1990′s
going on to direct a digital biography on the artist (“Superflat” 1998).
AIKO continued to practice her own art and after leaving Murakami’s
studio, she graduated from The New School University where she finished
her MFA Media Studies and later met up with two American artists, the
three of them would come to establish the group now known as FAILE.
Creating work within the collective locally and abroad for a number
of years, she moved on and established herself as Lady AIKO in 2006.
JR
Did just the unimaginable of combining photography into the streets!
Born in France on February 22, 1983, JR was just another average
teenager with a passion for graffiti. However, it was not until he found
a camera on the subway that his perception of street art changed. This
allowed him to track the individuals who communicate messages via walls
and street art.
In 2004, street artist JR photographed the riots that broke out in
the banlieues and created his first major project by pasting up large
prints of their faces around the city.
JR owns the biggest art gallery in the world. He exhibits freely in
the streets and has always allowed the public to assist with his street
artwork.
His work mixes art and act, talks about
commitment, freedom, identity, and limit.
