Street art started out as unintelligible words written on concrete walls with spray paint by gang members or silly kids. Now, however, it evolved into a unique form of art that might stun and inspire awe in the onlookers. For example, the artist that goes by the name 1010 specializes in creating optical illusions. His creations look like portals into other dimensions, without any hint that it might simply be a flat concrete wall painted over with multicolored paints. These pieces of art are so good that it is hard not to reach out into these ‘holes’ to find out whether or not they are real. (Photo by 1010)

Born in Los Angeles in 1980 to an engineer and an artist, Mac has been creating and studying art independently since childhood. He was inspired at a young age by classic European painters such as Caravaggio, and Vermeer and Art Nouveau symbolists such as Klimt and Mucha. This was mixed with the more contemporary influences of graffiti and photorealism, as well as as the Chicano & Mexican culture he grew up around.

Suso33 spent the last few days perched on a yellow crane to work on this impressive new piece on the streets of Madrid, Spain. Using a rather simple technique, the Spanish artist painted a brilliant piece which enters directly amongst our favourite artworks this year. This mural is a concentration of slightly outlined figures which are persecuted by their shadows, but if the viewer, instead of focusing on details, looks at the entire picture, what he sees is another figure. Take a look at more images after the jump and if you are in the area, you'll be able to find the piece at plaza del Poeta Leopoldo de Luis.

This photograph shows the famous Lyonnais fresco by CiteCreation with a tag depicting the Abbe Pierre with the word “rapist” next to it, in Lyon central-eastern France, on September 30, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Pachoud/AFP Photo)

New Jersey based artist, Joe Iurato creates art using hand-cut paper and spray paint to make small wood cutout figures and placed in public spaces. According to Iurato, “a puddle can become a lake, a small crack in a cement wall can become a magnificent climb, a planter box can become a place for a child to play, and a shadow might be a tangible space for a few seconds a day”. Photo: “Small World”. (Photo by Joe Lurato)

Iranian artist and designer Mehdi Ghadyanloo, with the help of the municipality, is slowly brightening up the city of Tehran one wall at a time. The 33-year old street artist has been painting murals and walls in Tehran for the last 5 years age, during which he’s reported to have painted over one hundred walls.

Artist Julien “Seth” Malland aka Seth Globepainter has become known around the world for his vibrant murals of people, most frequently children, who appear to be sucked into colorful rainbow-like voids. The figures are usually facing away from the viewer, their attention completely swallowed by pools of dripping color revealed behind drab, urban facades.

A girl walks in front of a graffiti painted on the wall of a house located inside the 15th-century complex built by Mameluk Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbey, in Cairo's City of the Dead, Egypt February 13, 2017. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)