Top 10 Amazing Street Art From Around the World

In the art world, everyday graffiti sits somewhere between “everyday annoyance” and “those damn hoodlums!” You know what I’m talking about—the lazy neon scribbles that plague alleyways and overpasses, as if someone handed a toddler a spray can and said, “Go nuts.” Honestly, if you’re that eager to voice your opinion, try a protest. Occupy something. Write a blog (like this one). But every once in a while, a street artist comes along who doesn’t just deface a wall—they transform it. With a sharp eye, a killer sense of space, and usually a name no one knows how to pronounce, they turn dull, urban corners into jaw-dropping canvases.

Here are 10 times street art truly earned its place in the gallery of global greatness.

1. Banksy’s “Girl with Balloon” – London, UK

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Banksy might be the only street artist your grandma knows. His “Girl with Balloon” is simple, poignant, and now iconic. Originally found on a wall under Waterloo Bridge, it’s a delicate symbol of hope and innocence in an otherwise grey landscape. Half the time people are still arguing if it’s social commentary or just a really sad birthday.

2. Eduardo Kobra’s “Mount Rushmore of Art” – Minneapolis, USA

Brazilian muralist Kobra doesn’t do subtle. His enormous murals are bursting with color and depth, and this tribute to legendary artists—Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring—is a technicolor punch to the eyes. And that’s a compliment.

3. INTI’s “Our Utopia Is Their Future” – Paris, France

Chilean artist INTI combines Latin American symbolism with surrealism and a touch of cosmic spookiness. This haunting piece in Paris features a robed figure holding industrial smokestacks like a bouquet of death. Charming, right? But seriously, it’s a poetic commentary on our collective environmental oblivion.

4. Pejac’s “Society’s Prison” – Madrid, Spain

If art could whisper in your ear, Pejac’s work would tell you, “Open your damn eyes.” Using shadows, reflections, and tricks of perspective, this piece shows a barred window casting a shadow of a birdcage. It’s small, subtle, and more powerful than a thousand-foot mural shouting slogans.

5. 3D Zebra Crossing – Ísafjörður, Iceland

Not all street art needs a message. Sometimes, it just needs to make you stop. Literally. This clever optical illusion in Iceland turns a boring crosswalk into a hovering 3D experience, forcing drivers to slow down for pedestrians. Art meets public safety? That’s a win-win.

6. Bordalo II’s “Trash Animals” – Lisbon, Portugal

One man’s trash is Bordalo II’s masterpiece. He takes old car parts, tires, and whatever else is clogging our oceans and alleyways, and crafts massive, colorful animals that stare you down like they’re wondering why you suck at recycling.

7. Alice Pasquini’s “Urban Stories” – Rome, Italy

Alice Pasquini’s work doesn’t shout. It breathes. Her murals are emotionally rich portraits, often of women and children, filled with subtle expressions and movement. You can find them scattered across Rome, quietly humanizing the chaotic stone jungle.

8. DALEast’s Metallic Creatures – Worldwide

DALEast creates ghostly, almost digital-looking animals that seem to unravel as you look at them. Made with wiry, metallic lines that look like they were slashed out of thin air, his work appears mid-explosion—beautiful and unsettling all at once.

9. Fintan Magee’s “The Refugee” – Amman, Jordan

Australian artist Fintan Magee paints soft, melancholic giants—figures full of emotion, balancing surreal objects and heavy themes. “The Refugee” in Jordan speaks volumes about displacement, yet it does so with grace rather than rage.

10. JR’s “Inside Out” Project – Global

Part photography, part social movement, JR’s Inside Out project has turned entire buildings into mosaics of human faces. Whether it’s a favela in Brazil or a prison in California, his goal is the same: to put a human face—literally—on global issues. It’s a selfie movement, but make it meaningful.