30. This man needs no introduction. Shepard Fairey's Andre and Obama Hope images are some of the best known artistic images of the past decade. His recent street work has mostly focused on complex layered patterns as backdrops to propaganda-style images.
29. Young and supremely talented, Aryz paints huge walls with a dark, illustrated style. The painter, who has drawn sporadically since childhood, began his career on a summer day with some friends. Aryz prefers to paint simply for the sake of painting; his passions for art and fun are his motivation. In fact, he is unsure of what to call his art. People often define it as graffiti, while others consider it street art.
28. Swoon is based in New York, but she is active all over the world. Her wood block images are precisely cut and then pasted on the street. The pieces often depict characters with expressive faces and elements of their life composed to form the body.
Swoon, Thalasa, 2013
27. Aakash Nihalani uses bright, bold lines at the forefront of all of his art as a means of visually creating 3D images on two-dimensional surfaces. The repetition of isometric squares and rectangles becomes visually pleasing to the eye, conveying complexities such as movement and space by something so simple as the placement of a line.
26. Conor Harrington's work draws a fine line between classical and contemporary art, and masterfully creates a world within those boundaries. Harrington, a former graffiti artist, not only still enjoys painting huge outdoor murals but consistently tackles new, inventive forms of art, often in a gallery setting.
25.The dark imagery found in ChInese born DALeast's art is undeniably captivating, woven with intricate detail while focusing on the simple subjects in his pieces. Each of his pieces of art is created using paint to look like thousands of shards of metal are coming together to form beautiful shapes, often animals or humans. Within every piece of DALeast’s art, a pop of color observed in the background brings his subject to life
DALEast in North London, 2013
24. How and Nosm, or Raoul and Davide Perre', are identical twin brothers who have become prevalent figures in today's art world with their red, black and white based murals and paintings. Their large-scale murals are riddled with intricate detail while staying true to their graffiti roots. One glance at a How and Nosm creation commands your undivided attention due to it's impressive size. However, look again and you'll see another dimension to their art that goes unnoticed unless truly appreciated and studied.
How and Nosm, Last Departure, 2014. Image courtesy of Jacob Lewis Gallery
23. 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 on street art changed. This allowed him to track the individuals who communicate messages via walls and street art. He quickly began to track people in the forbidden undergrounds and roofs of Paris, France. In 2004,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
22. George Hambov aka Apeseven grew up in the 1980's Sydney skateboard scene . Spending most of his time exploring industrial areas , listening to hip hop, he grew up on a healthy dose of anime , skateboard art and graffiti . Apeseven predominantly approaches work with a street art perspective, freehand aerosol and traditional brush techniques. Works primarily incorporate mixed media, acrylics, aerosol, inks, found paper and objects.
Apeseven, Together and Never, 2014. Limted Edition (50) Giclee Archival on Rag Paper
21. Os Gemeos is a Portuguese word meaning the twins. These duo street artists are identical twin brothers who were born as Otavio Pandolfo and Gustavo Pandolfo in 1974. The brothers were born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Os Gemeos began their careers by being involved in spray-painting graffiti in 1987. Slowly but surely they began to gain large recognition in the underground urban scene. As their influence spread across the urban community they began to help define Brazil’s very own unique style. Their style evolved around traditional hip-hop style and the Brazilian culture.
20. Brian Donnelly is currently best known as the artist KAWS. KAWS is a New York-based artist who has made a name out of him designing limited edition toys and clothing. He is also a world-renowned artist who exhibits in museums and galleries internationally. His art stands somewhere between fine art and global commerce. KAWS moved beyond the sphere of the exclusive art market to occupy a more complex global market.
Ysabel LeMay's phantasmagorical nature photographs defy all odds. In a world where nature photography has been done to death, LeMay' creates unique images that radiate with awe.