influential today artists street The 50 most most 50 The Street art today 2

influential today artists street The 50 most most 50 The

Street art 2

Bjørn todayVan Poucke 004 INTRODUCTION scene. reinvented of anew, re-birth the witnessing and we’re behind us finally is crisis identity street art’s the peak of It feels like World View Rifkin’s Entropy: Jeremy of ing New A matter, this Ican’t think into help deep Getting scene. anew, of reinvented re-birth the we’re witnessing and us behind finally is crisis identity art’s street of peak like the feels it esty, in hon all And kicking. and alive still are them rebellious-minded movements – and most of other to happened scenarios similar as turn, such taking are things that time isn’t first this the But years. recent in the amonster of creation the we’ve witnessed purposes, branding or (ab)using plainly or credibility, marketing for it own their build to elements borrowing wide, world processes gentrification of part as value immeasurable its Seeing expression. culture youth of forms these over mind well-calculated its lost much pretty mainstream the boarding, skate or music as such culture urban of forms these developments. Just like other spared been not has art street hyper-likable, ultimately and relatable, noticeable, Highly any more. sense make doesn’t just times some which stuff of mishmash a hard-to-read become has everything world, In aconverged origins. different from elements opposing incorporating sometimes of variety, comprised regularly are which hybrids created –has media social of allure virtual the upwith – spiced merging and mixing transglobal the culture, economy, politics, or we’re talking Whether methods. and tools existing using gorise cate and comprehend to hard are that trends and in dynamics 21stthe resulted has century in HYPER-GLOBALISATION world THE the of a number of different forms and conducts. conducts. and forms different of a number with movement recognised aglobally into evolved has individuals by expression of form aspontaneous as started What programme. predetermined this of part also is culture art street the universe, in the existing things Like all chaos. towards perfection of a state from moves everything Second, form. its change to possible it’s only created; be cannot energy First, law thermodynamics. of second the using by structures social and economic and the way he relates the world’s world’s the relates he way the and - - - - - intro-- duction At the same time, the initial writing of state- and sold, or just transformed into Instagram ments and names evolved into the creation likes. It made me realise that there will always of the most elaborate, giant-scale in be new generations and new regions where every corner of the globe, using classical art, these forms of expressions are not familiar technology, or anything else within its reach. and people will appreciate them, or hate And yes, a whole pile of decorative, Instagram- them, with a pure heart, without prejudice or friendly work that is simply riding the same inhibitions previous experiences. hype wave. So again, street art is still street, it just grew So yes, street art is still street, but not all of bigger in so many ways, from its universal it is. As Escif stated in the interview I did with recognition to its general artistic quality. him for Juxtapoz Magazine, ‘Actual street art And while it might not look or feel like it did is created by people who don’t care about art: a decade ago, there will always be a significant wall painters in Senegal, sign painters in group of individuals that will come up with , Pixadores in Brazil, political painters new concepts, new visuals, and new tech- in Greece, homeless in United States and out- niques, which will challenge the viewer and sider people all around the world who really other creatives. Because that is precisely what believe that what they are doing is a tool to was happening in the beginning and is still change their context.’ Those still exist, regard- the root of it all, no matter how many likes a less of big festivals that took over gentrified selfie-friendly of angel wings on a bust- areas of major cities everywhere, from Hono- ling street of London/ New York/ Rijeka gets. lulu to . And so do the genuine street artists like Escif himself, or Blu, or countless others who are very much aware Sasha Bogojev of how quickly tables can be turned and their ‘tools to change their context’ can ultimately Contributing editor at Juxtapoz Magazine / be used for someone else’s gain. The same writer / curator goes for graffiti writers that are nurturing the vandalising aspect of the original movement. People like 1UP crew who are taking the marking of urban space to absolute extremes these days, risking their freedom and literally their lives while jumping trains and hanging off buildings in order to create the most insane and in-your-face illegal work we’ve witnessed to date.

Coming from a country that is usually not on the map of countries where big things happen, I’ve been following the introduction and evo- lution of street art in Croatia. It was interest- ing seeing the dynamics I’ve experienced elsewhere, watching them slowly taking place in my homeland, and observing a growing local interest. This has helped me step out of my bubble, in which I was aware of the ways the movement has been institutionalised (more or less successfully), labelled, bought 005 intro- duction 006 PREFACE still ‘street’? is street art question: us to the Which leads that represent what we see as growing trends, trends, growing as see we what represent that artists and projects thoughts, new some ward for put to happy very are we edition, In this art. street of world paced fast- in the especially style, in arigid artist any ‘freeze’ or pigeonhole to wrong feels It minds navigate. to creative their for room breathing more leave to in order themes the broaden to choose we represented, artists all of polyvalence the of Aware self-reflection. to relates reader, also dear you, but for navigation book’s the simplify will innovation That pages. these grace not do surrealism and art /naive toyism on chapters previous You globe! the that notice around may also eye our catch works exciting and fresh see to are we lucky How artists. emerging talented some of work the share to super-excited are up, we and have popped names New edition. last the since changes some mayyou notice worldwide, artists influential 50 the of most group anew present we As pages. few these in justice them do cannot we that months 36 last in the born have been projects So many groupies. the and journalists the through the the eyes curators, of the artists, art street of world the into years three past the over back glimpse asmall II, areturn, aChapter update, an present we Here sation. conver- the continuing are we on, years Three any finish sentence. could we before away sprint time of pinpoint each made evolution of pace The exactly. document to impossible nearly it made us around ment environ changing the of speed the and jects pro these artists, these that us to clear was it text, first that writing when Even art. street of world morphing and writhing the on order some impose to attempt in an style of gories cate presenting volume, the We curated had time. that of artists influential 50the most present and space in public art of history the retrace to aimed which publications, of a series become to set already was what in book first 2016IN Street Today, Art WE RELEASED

the - - - preface - as well as some obvious themes that we feel As street art is being slowly absorbed into it is important to discuss. The past few years academia, with accredited university degrees have seen a rise in socially engaged art, with being promoted and endless studies con- many artists across all styles and genres giving ducted on urban visual history, we see more their voice, sometimes their screams, to raise and more artists who hold university degrees. awareness of climate change, discriminatory street art continues to grow and evolve immigration policies, gender inequality, racism towards a ‘legitimate’ art form, far from the and violent governments. The rise in artists grit and glamour of the American tagging engaging in projects working directly with crews of the early days of graffiti, which people the community, often through not-for-profit still associate with public art. As more and organisations, is also important to note; we more university-trained artists become actors firmly believe in the power of public art to enable in the urban landscape, the diversity communities to engage in positive change. of the group grows – and with most creatives not creating a ‘pure street’ body of work, When crafting this selection, we also found it the lines between contemporary art, street important to address the question of gender art and design are increasingly blurred. inequality in street art and unfortunately in most creative networks, meaning by proxy Commercially, international street art festivals across society at large. Though founded on are becoming longer standing, better organ- notions of democracy, the street art world ised and highly sponsored. Simultaneously, is not exempt from inequity, and even if we public funding is increasingly focused on com- chose to promote a higher percentage of female munity identity and ‘creative placemaking’. artists than would typically be shown, women Today, street art is more educated, more remain underrepresented in this field. It is accepted and more popular than ever. But in important today to recognise this point, not in some cases, it is being unfoundedly appropri- a voice of anger or defeat, but rather in celebra- ated, unjustly exploited, cleaned up, toned tion of all those brilliant minds that are creating down, auto-censored, commercially focused environments of open discussion, addressing and dryly institutionalised. Which leads us to gender equality for artists and audience alike. question in this edition: is street art still ‘Street’? Technology is also considered an important element in public art production today. With accessible new gadgets popping up every- Bjørn Van Poucke where, and superfast programs being devel- oped worldwide, artists are increasingly playing with installations, projection mapping, interactive artworks, and digital tech. Not only does this open the doors of creation, but it also increases our ability to disseminate works globally. It's a beautiful thing to be able to see the latest walls in Istanbul, the biggest pieces in Rio or the most hidden of ephemeral works. It's frightening, however, when we see artists sacrificing creativity for the ego game of cheap ‘likes’, hits or a competition about who can get the most ‘followers’. Social media is becoming both innovation’s best friend and creativity’s worst enemy. 007 preface 008 CONTENT 082 078 074 070 066 062 058 054 044 040 038 020 006 004 ROBERTO CIREDZ OKUDA NELIO JUNE MR. MOMO MADC KRISTIN FARR FELIPE PANTONE -interview ELLEN RUTT ELIAN INTRODUCTION ABSTRACT 1/ INTERVIEW / PREFACE / / INTRODUCTION by BjørnVan Poucke Anne-Laure Lemaitre, Doug Gillen, Iryna KanischevaAnne-Laure Lemaitre, Reed Gillen,Iryna &Martyn Doug by SashaBogojev 162 158 154 150 146 142 138 134 130 126 122 112 106 104 100 096 092 088 086 SHERYO &YOK SETH GLOBEPAINTER SAINER PAOLA DELFIN LOW BROS JAZ HYURO HERAKUT FINTAN MAGEE FAITH47 ESCIF MILU CORRECH-interview CINTA VIDAL BELIN ARYZ WANANDREA ALICE PASQUINI SENNA ALEX INTRODUCTION FIGURATIVE 2/

content 009 » / Aryz Elian Okuda Bosoletti Bonito, , 2018 Italy, Bonito, PHOTO BY THE ARTIST BY PHOTO THE ARTIST BY PHOTO THE ARTIST BY PHOTO THE ARTIST BY PHOTO PHOTO BY THE ARTIST THE ARTIST BY PHOTO Tolosa, Spain, 2019 Tolosa, Llanera, Spain, 2015 Llanera, Sebas Velasco & Zoer Sebas Velasco Valencia, Spain, 2018 Valencia, Chongqing, , 2016 Chongqing, 4/ INTERVENTIONISM URBAN INTRODUCTION AMPPARITO BANKSY WAGNER CRYSTAL ZACHAREVIC ERNEST - interview ICY & SOT ISAAC CORDAL JAUNE JR LEON KEER PEJAC FAIREY SHEPARD SPY STROOK SWOON RITA WASTED 202 204 208 212 216 220 230 234 238 242 246 250 254 258 262 266

INTRODUCTION AXEL VOID BOSOLETTI MACLAIMCASE HELTEN GUIDO VAN LONAC VELASCOSEBAS - interview & VELVET ZOER 3/ REALISM 166 168 172 176 180 184 188 192 content 1 interviewINTERVIEW 020 ANNE-LAURE LEMAITRE, DOUG GILLEN, IRYNA KANISHCHEVA & MARTYN REED Interview INTERVIEW Has there ever What have been the most inspiring pro- and the spectator like nothing else jects in the past three years? in history. been a more AL: Street art has experienced tremendous changes over the past What have been the most inspiring audacious 10-15 years, shifting from a niche projects in the past three years? alternative scene to an art form MR: If ‘project’ is something con- project in which is universally recognised and ceived with a beginning and an end appreciated. This evolution allowed that requires financial resources for a greater plurality of voices, other than the artist’s own, then it the history of techniques, and approaches, has to be Banksy’s ‘Walled Off Hotel visually and conceptually diverse. in Bethlehem’. Has there ever been a contemporary MR: I’d say the exponential growth more audacious project in the his- of the monolithic mural as the tory of contemporary political art? political art default setting for municipal and It's second only to his Sotheby’s corporate-sponsored “street art”, prank with the ‘Shredded Girl other than alongside the expansion of the with Balloon’. mural festival network and the dom- If on the other hand ‘project’ is a plan Banksy's inance of large-scale decorative conceived and executed on the streets works in public space. by someone who simply wants to Walled Off DG: Nothing has changed street art make their mark on the world, then like the internet. From the smallest I’d have to salute every tagger, sten- Hotel? illegal paste-up to ground-breaking cillist, writer and stickerist out there. blockbuster festivals, art is being I’m inspired every day by the tags constantly showcased and available I pass, that manage to turn the pri- for consumption 24/7. This has vate to public in the most efficient changed the experience for the artist way imaginable under a system that

1 / Banksy Bethlehem, Jerusalem, 2017 021 PHOTO BY SASHA BOGOJEV ELIAN / Buenos Aires

Famous for his bright geometric murals, Argentinian artist Elian was featured in the last edition of Street Art Today as one of the leaders in abstract street art. His large-scale works have continued to dominate the international urban art world as he moves forward, developing his craft through sensitive observations of architectural and social context.

His interventions are the fruit of studied dialogue with the architectural lines. Though the bright colours are often breath-taking, he takes particular care in creating a harmonious environment for the passers-by. ‘I find it interesting that a person in his usual routine becomes a spectator / user of a . I think it is an unexpected encounter with creativity.’

1 2 e r 1 pt a ch 040 abstract 041 1 / 2 / PHOTO BY THE ARTIST BY PHOTO PHOTO BY THE ARTIST BY PHOTO Barcelona, Spain, 2018 Barcelona, Cologne, , 2017 Cologne, Germany, ALEX SENNA / Sao Paulo

Few artists today aspire to such sincerity and genuine compassion for his fellow human as does Alex Senna. His illustration-style black-and-white street sketches portray people in the everyday. With positively endearing snippets of love, embrace, romance and tenderness, he demonstrates kindness and empathy. Rumoured to be colour-blind, Alex is self-taught and hardworking, having painted in the streets, galleries and studio for over ten years.

Often drawing inspiration from narratives of family and friends, Alex also presents wider concerns of the São Paulo community, one of disparity and contrast. His characters often take a larger-than-life presence with the simple use of shadowing, rendering an everyday scene suddenly spectacular. Alex talks of universal emotions, reminding us of the extraordinary in the ordinary and of moments that unite us all as human.

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1 / Civita Campomarano, Molise, Italy, 2017 PHOTO BY THE ARTIST

2 / Civita Campomarano, Molise, Italy, 2017 PHOTO BY RODRIGO ERIB

3 / Civita Campomarano, Molise, Italy, 2019

088 PHOTO BY THE ARTIST f igur a tiv e

3 089 GUIDO VAN HELTEN / Brisbane

Best known for his large-scale, site-specific murals, Guido van Helten is a highly talented Australian artist whose breath-taking monochromatic portraits adorn walls around the world. Working in a photorealistic style, he creates delicate and elegant pieces that have an overall atmosphere of melancholy and a deeply sentimental quality. His work is often informed by photographic reference material that is socially important to the area he is working in. Guido always pays special attention to detail and tries to incorporate specific local elements into his pieces. Guido’s work can be found everywhere: from to the United Kingdom, from Eastern Europe to Mexico. His portraits of un-idealised faces of ordinary men, women and children in a stunning, realistic manner are striking in their ability to capture all the emotions of their subjects. Amongst his large-scale pieces, the artist also creates studio works.

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1 / Urbandale Nations, Nashville, Tennessee, 2017 PHOTO BY THE ARTIST

2 / Panjim, Goa, India, 2018

180 PHOTO BY THE ARTIST Realism 181 1 / 2 / PHOTO BY THE ARTIST BY PHOTO PHOTO BY THE ARTIST BY PHOTO Panjim, Goa, India, 2018 Panjim, Urbandale Nations, Nashville, Tennessee, 2017 Tennessee, Nashville, Urbandale Nations, 1 chapter 4 220 ICY & SOT / New York

Online presence and videos is how we spread Urban InterventUrban io Urban InterventUrban io our word and

raise It is clear that you both see the role Yes, we have encountered backlash n n is of an artist as a position of social for some of our works about gun is m m awareness. responsibility. What issues do you think violence and borders in the United art has the most power to address? States, but for the most part we have We think it’s The contemporary issues! Art gained an amazing response from has always been an important part our viewers. Sometimes people even really of change in society. We believe that engage with some of our projects. the role of the artist is to advocate For example, we made a important in for the freedom and the hope of the entitled ‘Human Reflection on general public, and to raise aware- Nature’, depicting humans damag- the process ness about the issues happening ing the environment. We were so in their time. happy to see an amazing response! of Many volunteers and community Over the past few years, there have members started to clean all the creating our been many political, ecological and eco- plastic trash from the river. They nomic changes in society – many for made inspired by our work. the worse. What are the main concerns piece and installed them along the that your work focuses on? Have you river the hope of motivating people ever encountered backlash for express- to care about the environment. ing your political views? We always try to ensure that our Iran is not a very well-known urban work conveys a message. In recent art scene. Can you describe the street years, we have focused more on culture there? immigration issues, the refugee It was always a small scene, even crisis, climate change and social from the beginning, because it has justice. been always riskier for the street

1 / New York, USA, 2018 221 PHOTO BY THE ARTIST 272 COLOPHON COLOPHON #AREYOUMARKED please contact thepublisher. If, however, you feel thatyou have inadvertently beenoverlooked, hasbeenmade effort to traceEvery copyrightholders. retrieval system, withoutpriorpermission inwritingfrom thepublisher. including photocopy, recording orany otherinformation storage and or transmitted inany form orby any means,electronic ormechanical, ofthispublication may Nopart All rightsreserved. bereproduced ISBN: 9789401461597 D/2019/45/582 –NUR640 © LannooPublishers,,2019 [email protected] in thisbook,pleasedonothesitate to contact oureditorial team: If you have any questionsorcommentsaboutthematerial www.markedbylannoo.com.offers andMARKEDevents on food &travel, photography andfashionaswell asexclusive interior publications design, new andforthcoming onart, Or signupfor ourMARKEDnewsletter withnewsabout on @markedbylannoo JOIN THEMARKEDCOMMUNITY www.markedbylannoo.com MARKED isaninitiative by LannooPublishers theintroduction interviews, andpreface.the artist Elise Luongdrafted all texts inthisedition excluding Oeyen &Winters DESIGN BOOK Joy Philips COPY-EDITING Bjørn Van Poucke AUTHOR