TOP 20 of Street Art works in 2 years of blogging!
29 August 2020This summer, due to the COVID-19, I have more free time and I took a closer look at Instagram and discovered statistics! Oh surprise, I realize that the most loved Street Art works are not necessarily the ones I would have chosen to achieve a TOP 20! So I decided to make your TOP 20 and since Instagram only offers images, for each work or artist; I will tell you either the artist story, the work story or mine at the time of discovery.
Highlighting these Street Art works also means thanking these fantastic artists without whom the blog would not exist… TOP 20, Here we go!
1. Atwork by Edgar Saner in the district of Roma Norte – Mexico City
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It’s a big surprise to me that Edgar Saner’s work, which is neither super colorful nor gigantic, tops the charts; especially since its theme on the Mexican revolution is not the easiest to decipher. Edgar Saner is the most famous Mexican Street Artist internationally and even though he collaborates with famous brands he is still attached to Mexican iconography and the history of his country. In this fresco he gives us to see in the form of puppets the oppressed peoples and the character who slips on the right hidden under a Zapatista scarf represents the revolution or rather the liberation. Note an important detail: his characters never have eyes; because according to him we can only see well with the heart!
2. Face by Gonzalo Borondo in Vitry-sur-Seine – France
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Borondo is a Spanish Street Artist whose work and so particular style marked the world of Street Art since 2003. With a few bombastic features, he manages to bring out a face, often hard, sometimes ghostly. This artist with his rather dark works and his spontaneity is unclassifiable. Despite his growing notoriety, he continues to travel and pos works spontaneously when the place or the medium inspires him.
3. Portrait by Hektad in West Village New York
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For me, this work by Hektad is like a UFO in his work… You should know that Hektad is one of the pioneers of New-York graffiti who since 2013 has been working only on his “Love drunk” project. For this project he distills hearts all over the city, sometimes with the message “Choose Love”. So seeing a face made by Hektad was a real surprise, especially with a technique suggests that the bomb would be like chalk. After making sure that the work was really his own, I was never able to know if it was a commission from a fashion brand – as the background might suggest – or a passing desire on the part of the artist. This work is now covered over by another and Hektad continues to distill love in the Streets of New York.
4. Albert Einstein on a bicycle by Eduardo Kobra, Upper East Side New York
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Eduardo Kobra is without a doubt the most famous Brazilian Street Artist in the world. In 2019, he completed a major project in the heart of Manhattan, producing an incredible number of monumental Street Art works. One of his recurring characters is Albert Einstein, whom he keeps painting with a smile on his face. We recognize in this fresco, as in all of Kobra’s works, its kaleidoscopic aesthetic. But unlike his other works, this one is more dynamic and much lighter.
5. Majestic tiger by Sonny Sundancer in the Soho district of New York
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I don’t know if you’ve noticed it already, but Street Art is a great bestiary and animals are widely represented. In Sonny’s case, it is obvious to him that he is defending endangered species since this English artist spent much of his youth in South Africa. He collaborates on numerous projects with UNICEF, WWF, and in the context of this achievement with the association Discovery’s Project Cat. he is a self-taught artist and I sincerely hope that we will have the opportunity to have one of his works in France one day.
6. Pierre Soulages, Sébastien Chabal and Christine Taubira by Christian Guémy alias C215 in Vitry-sur-Seine – France
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Christian Guémy Aka C215 is a famous French stencil artist. I devoted the previous article to him. This humanist artist is passionate about French History and he also fights for Street Art to be recognized as an integral part of our culture. In Vitry-sur-Seine, he work hard to bring Street Art into the city and develop it. Today Vitry is one of the top spots to see International Street Art works. Christian Guémy continues to delight is with his stencils which have the particularity of bringing out the expression and look of each character.
7. Geco giant by DJ Neff in the Bowery district of New York
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It’s amazing how this colorful geco has been shared on social media countless times. DJ NEFF is a little-known American graffiti artist and above all he is graphic designer and illustrator. he loves to paint chameleons, frogs, rabbits and other animals. I believe that the success of this painting lies in the fact that we have the feeling that the animal is going ti jump on us with a smile. A highly Instagrammable achievment!
8. Woman’s portrait par Aydar in the Parisian Marais
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Very sincerely I am amazed that this portrait by artist Aydar made it to this Top 20 in just few days. All I know about this artist is that he is Parisian and that it has been barely 4 years since his work has been seen on the walls of the capital. Perhaps the softness of its realization drew “Likes” in this bizarre period when Paris is a city deserted from its tourists and therefore from a certain form of life?
9. The iconic STIK character in New York’s Bowery district
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You have no idea how much pleasure it gives me to see a work by the English artist STIK in this ranking! THANK YOU! This marginal artist, who spent 10 years of his life as homeless, is a real autodidact. With five lines, a circle and two dots, he succeeded in creating the most figurative and iconic character in the world of Street Art. He manages to convey feelings, expressions and postures into his character with disconcerting ease. Now recognized around the world, he continues to donate a large portion of his earnings to charity.
10. The Brave of 9/11 by Eduardo Kobra, Upper East Side in New York
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This monumental fresco is located on the same building as the one of Albert Einstein. Highly symbolic, it certainly contributed to strengthening the bond that the Brazilian artist has forged with New York City. This anonymous kneeling firefighter is done from a photograph taken on September 11th at the foot of the devastated Twin Towers. A tribute to all the firefighters called “The Braves of September 11”. This imposing fresco, which rises over 7 floors, reinforces the impression one gets in front of this exhausted firefighter and tirelessly reminds us the gravity of the moment.
11. « Double Crossed » by D*Face in Broome Street New York
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D*Face is an English artist passionate about United States and the American dream from an early age. This work is very interesting because we find his signature which is these little horns in the shape of a cloud, which represents the horns of American clowns, image that had marked him in his youth during his first travel to New York. When he made this work, a very famous former Hollywood actress had followed the evolution from her flat’s windows on the other side of the street. When she passed away D*Face went back to his work and added a tear. The name of this work is also astonishing, “double crossed”, because at a certain time of the day the windows of the opposite building are reflecting sun and drawing crosses all around it as you can see on my photo… An unmissable piece of Street Art from Little Italy!
12. Tuesday by Alex Face at the Rosa Bonheur in Asnières-sur-Seine
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Alex Face is the most famous of Thai graffiti artists, his touching character called “Tuesday” is generally found on abandoned houses or walls located in the depths of the countryside. I will explain to you how his work ended up on a wall in Asnières-sur-Seine… In fact the Rosa Bonheur, a barge on the Seine, had a hug wall that ran along the banks, which was very ugly. The Rosa team entrusted their Friend & French Street Artist Pimax with the mission of bringing this wall to life! Pimax invite all his artist’s friends and Alex Face was part of them; to our greatest delight 😉
13. Invader & Christian Guémy on Saint Louis Island in Paris
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I had notified earlier in the article that artist Christian Guémy was passionate about history, you have the proof now! I find this photo interesting because it combines two super different styles of Street Art: ceramic and stencil! And as you can see this is not shocking at all ;-)! I don’t think I need to introduce you to Invader who since the 90’s has been invading cities all over the world with its mosaics; but just warn you that he continues! Expect to see Invaders everywhere;-)
14. Simone Veil by Christian Guémy in the Parisian Marais
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I am very happy that you have selected this specific creation by Christian Guémy. Simone Veil is a woman who has made History with a capital H. She witnessed as a victim and then she has help changing the futur of thousands of French women who have benefited from great social advances thanks to her. She deserves its place among the illustrious of the Panthéon and I thank Christian Guémy for renovating her portrait at each degradation… Degradation due to ignorance unfortunately…
15. Children by Joe Iurato in Bowery district New York
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Joe Iurato has the particularity of painting almost only his son! His work therefore grew over the years. He is an American artist who works mainly with stencils and aerosol. His representations of the human being are always in shades of gray, which gives his work a very illustrative style. For some time now, he has started cutting out his works and arranging them in new urban environment, developing is art as a photographic one too.
16. Portrait by HOPARE in the Parisian Marais
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HOPARE is a French artist who fell into graffiti from an early age. An artist with incisive features in constant search of perfection. With each new creation we can observe new details. His Street Art works mainly focuses on faces, and ver often, the faces of women. This picture is special as the work begins to be degraded by time; but personally I find that these degradations make it more beautiful and more present in the street.
17. Cosmonaut by BDWhite in East Village New York
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For the record, BDWhite is a New York artist who at the beginning of his career, to get noticed, placed – unlike other artists- his works at the bottom of the walls under public lighting! He is a workaholic, obsessed with weightlessness and cosmonauts! If you take a close look at this photo, you wouldn’t necessarily imagine it took more than 60 layers of stencils to make it. Some of his works go up to 95 layers of stencils : A work of goldsmith!
18. Tribute to Roy Lichtenstein by Eduardo Kobra Upper East Side in New York
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I will not hide from you that this tribute to Roy Lichtenstein touched me deeply. this take on Lichtenstein’s own style, with the dotted line, the comic bubble style and the way hair are drawn, reinforces the power of the tribute. A magnificent works housed on the terrace of an unpretentious hotel on the Upper East Side. When I found myself in front of this work, I realize that the difference between Pop Art and Street Art was really tiny.
19. Audrey Hepburn by Tristan Eaton in Little Italy New York
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Tristan Eaton’s story is quite amazing, as this Hollywood artist started drawing toys for Fisher Price at the age of 18! The he co-created the legendary Kid-Robot…Although he is more known for his monumental Street Art works than for his designer activities; he is still one of the most fashionable designers in the United States! In his works he likes to marry old techniques with innovation in order to achieve harmony & balance. This portrait of Audrey Hepburn made in 2013 is the perfect illustration.
20. Young girl lying down by Alice Pasquini in Vitry-sur-Seine France
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Alice Pasquini is the only woman in your TOP Street Art Works! It is true that women artists are less represented in the community, but they are still numerous 😉 This artist, native from Rome in Italy, is recognized on the international scene; she has a very academic background and her style is recognizable at a glance. She underlines the bodies and faces of women with pencils and brushes. She arrives, as with this young gril lying down, to make us feel the simplest emotions of her characters. This work contrasts completely wit its location in the heart of the Cité de la Glacière in Vitry… A dose of softness in a rough concrete universe!
4 Street Art works that I would love to see in your TOP 20!
This TOP 20 is astonishing by its diversity, there are French, Brazilian, Italian, English, Thai and American artists… And I’ve note that you have a soft spot for Eduardo Kobra and Christian Guémy 😉
What surprised me was that I thought I would find at least one graffiti, because I post some amazing ones in Instagram! That’s why I chose to illustrate the cover of this article the mural done by Queen Andrea on the iconic Houston Bowery Wall in New York. The other three Street Art works that I would have loved to see in this TOP 20 are:
ELLIS – Eduardo Kobra – New York – Photot: @Altinnov
Ellis Island by Eduardo Kobra in New York: This majestic work spans 8611 Square Feet of wall. To say that it was after more than 12 miles walking in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan where I was hunting Street Art in search of ideas fo articles that I stumbled upon this wall. This monumental tribute to the migrants who passed through Ellis Island is poignant, moreover it represents the real diversity of the peoples that make up America. I stood in front of this work for a long time, scrutinizing the smallest details, and then I decided that the next morning I had to go hunting for other Kobra’s works around New York to dedicate an article to it on the blog.
Le pêcheur par Pinto o Muere – Photo @Altinnov
The fisherman by Pinto o Muere on the island of Holbox in Mexico: This photo for me is like a dream; the line of the work merge with the horizon’s one. I passed every day during 10 days in front of this work produced by a collective of artist during the 1st International Public Art Festival in 2014; and I never got tired of it 😉
Le désespéré par PBOY – Photo @Altinnov
The Desperate by Gustave Courbet reinterpreted by PBOY in the Ordener wall in Paris: pointillism made with aerosol for an incredible rendering! Artist Pascal Boyart, aka PBOY, is not only a libertarian artist; but he brilliantly reinterprets the works of painters such as Gustave Courbet, Edouard MAnet or even Eugène Delacroix. Committed and innovative artists, he denounces the current financial system and inserts a QR Code in each of his frescoes in order to receive donations in Bitcoin. This fresco has now disappeared, but it is one of the most beautiful that I have seen in my neighborhood;-)
See you on August 30, 2021 for a nwe TOP 20 of your favorite Street Art works!
In fact I find super interesting to see the works that have your preferences on Instagram, and at the same time it’s also frustrating because there is not much about the context in which the work is located and even less about the artist. As my future walks will take me to new places; next year’s TOP 20 will certainly be completely different from this one. I admit I can’t wait to see what he will give!
For those who liked Eduardo Kobra, I recommend my discovery of his works in New York; you will have plenty of eyes! for lovers of stencils, two articles about Christian Guémy await you on the blog; the first on on the illustrious of the Panthéon and the second on the Big Century of the Parisian Marais. And as you have chosen a Mexican work at the top of this ranking; I invite you to discover Mexican Street Art and its peculiarities on Holbox Island or in the heart of Mexico City!
I will meet you again very soon with a new article about the Parisian Street Art in the 19th district! Take care 😉
