Five of the world's best street artists
BANKSY
The Bristol-born artist has, amazingly, managed to retain his anonymity despite his fame. His trademark satirical combinations of stencils and written text have at various times featured rats, chimps and human figures. He emerged from the Bristol underground music and art scene of the early 1990s and cites both the anarchist graffiti of 1970s punk band Crass and Blek le Rat as influences. His work now sells for vast sums, but he remains a critic of the contemporary art world. When his works began fetching record prices at auction in 2007, his website carried an image of an auction house scene showing people bidding on a picture emblazoned with the legend, "I Can't Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Sh*t". Beloved by celebrities, he is not without his critics. One, commenting on his street art international protest in Bethlehem last Christmas, claimed that "like his art, Banksy's 'political' understanding is also two-dimensional". www.banksy.co.uk
BLEK LE RAT
The Sunday Timesart critic, Waldemar Januszczak, was surprised when he went to interview the "grand old man of street art" to meet a softly-spoken 56-year-old Frenchman who "seems as thoroughly ordinary as the man who teaches my daughter geography". But le Rat was scandalising Paris with his stencilled armies of rats and distinctive life-sized figures more than a quarter of a century ago. And he is still stubbornly independent minded. He told Januszczak that he didn't take part in Banksy's street art protest in Bethlehem last Christmas because he supports Israel. www.blekmyvibe.free.fr
OS GEMEOS
They are still relatively unknown in Europe, but these twin brothers from Sao Paulo are massive in their home country. Brazil has one of the most vibrant street art cultures anywhere - and some of the most talented and original practitioners. The strange, stick-limbed figures in their colourful murals are both endearing and disturbing, like cartoons drawn by ghosts. Though their work often has a political edge, they also draw on folk tales, literature and their own family for inspiration.
SWOON
Street art is mainly a male preserve, but this young New York woman has carved out a credible reputation with the huge, very elaborate paper cut-outs and block prints of people which she pastes up all over the streets of New York. Trained in classical painting, she turned to street art after becoming disillusioned with art school. She exhibits in galleries - the Museum of Modern Art has acquired six of her pieces, but does not do commercial work. "Companies need to be asked tough questions. They don't need us to blindly support them by lending them our credibility."
BLU
A talented street artist from Bologna in Italy, Blu is known for his enormous, often surreal and sometimes grotesque murals featuring mutating humans and monsters. His work often has a political or ethical message. This year he painted extensively in Central and South America before fetching up at Tate Modern's street art exhibition in August. Blu is also an excellent animator of his own work - check out his animated shorts on his website www.blublu.org
TOP IRISH STREET ARTISTS
ASBESTOS
Known for his witty series of Lostposters, a series of dolls' head paintings and, more recently, a number of portraits of hands, he works mainly on materials such as wood and plasterboard found on the street which are then returned with the painting on them. Along with D*Face and Mysterious Al, he created ice sculptures in the Ice Hotel in Sweden in 2006. Earlier this year, he exhibited at the Carmichael Gallery in Los Angeles. www.theartofasbestos.com
MASER
Yep, he sure does love us. His pink and yellow "love heart" designs and Pop Art-influenced portraits in saturated colours are distinctive, complex and extremely technically proficient. A favourite choice for corporates seeking cred. www.maserart.com
CONOR HARRINGTON
This talented Cork artist combines "fine art" techniques with spray painting and street graphics to create arresting, evocative images, mainly of men, in urban settings. He has exhibited with the Lazarides gallery, also home to Banksy. He still paints on the streets, though mainly in London, where he is now based. www.conorharrington.com
DBC
Most people are familiar with this artist's brightly coloured, doe-eyed monsters, which can be seen in locations as varied as Dundrum Shopping Centre, the wall on Marian College in Ballsbridge, and the railway sidings wall at Pearse Station. The acronym is said to stand for Da Bomb Club and there are persistent claims on the internet that DBC is a woman. www.gemdbc.deviantart.com
GRIFT
A long-time graffiti grafter, Grift mostly just sticks to tagging his name but his bubble-style moniker has become so ubiquitous he is by now considered a bit of a legend. His tag is often seen in conjunction with the ICN (InCogNito) crew's.
STREET ART ON THE WEB
The Wooster Collective is a New York-based site dedicated to street art since 2001. www.woostercollective.com
Even older is www.artcrimes.org, which was started in 1994 and has images of graffiti and street art from 445 cities around the world.
For Irish street art, www.eiresol.com is a good place to start. There are also lots of clips on YouTube and pictures on flickr
Cathy Dillon