From the 1960s to today, Berlin has been counted among the world capitals of street art, and numerous artists have created their most iconic pieces here, so much so that today there are real itineraries to discover the most beautiful murals around the city. Then, if one could not go to Berlin, remember that there is always the Google Street Art Project which, comfortably seated in front of the computer, shows us the most beautiful street art around the world.
MILAN – Street art in Berlin was born in conjunction with the construction of the Wall, which separated East Germany from West Germany. Due to the symbolic significance of the wall as a means of division, it has become the most obvious place for the citizens of Berlin to express their views on a whole range of issues. During the Cold War, the west side of the Berlin Wall was completely covered in pieces, unlike the east side which was empty, as people in East Berlin couldn’t get close enough to paint it. It is interesting to note that, since the wall fell in 1989, a lot of new pieces have also appeared on the east side of the wall, allowing people to trace the historical and political change that has taken place in Europe, and comparing the contrasting representation of different themes on both sides of the wall. The ranking ofArtnet thus shows us the 5 most significant works present in Berlin. ROA , street artist from Ghent (Belgium) and famous in the underground scene for his large pieces depicting animals and birds, made with spray cans in black, white and gray only. ROA usually deals with the themes of death and the transience of life, which reflect the transient nature of human life and street art, which is inherently temporary due to its exposure to the elements. The mural in Oranienstrasse was commissioned by Skalitzers Contemporary Art in 2011 for the Transit exhibition. OS GEMEOS, born in 1974, are the Brazilian twins Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, probably the best known brothers in street art, for their large-scale installations and murals depicting yellow-skinned characters (Simpson model to be clear), strangely dressed and unusually proportioned. In 2005 their exhibition at the Deitch Projects in New York aroused considerable interest and since then they have participated in solo and group exhibitions in America (New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco), in Europe, South America and Asia. Their pieces were included in street art exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2011 and at the ICA in Boston in 2012. JRinstead he dedicates his art to the elderly, huge black and white photographic portraits that can be admired in 15 places throughout the city. JR was born in France in 1983, lives between Paris and New York, and is represented by Galerie Perrotin. After solo shows in the United States, Asia and Europe, including the Cincinnati Center for Contemporary Art and the Watari Museum in Tokyo, his next solo show will be at Galerie Perrotin in Hong Kong next April.
Among the most acclaimed and celebrated artists there is also an Italian one, BLUwho recently painted the entire facade of the former Air Force Barracks in via del Porto Fluviale in Rome, using nearly 50 windows to create 27 different faces. To understand the Berlin opera, however, you need to know the history of the building that houses it, that is, one of the 12 former border posts between East and West Germany. The first work depicts a man who is adjusting his tie, and wearing two gold watches connected by a chain, as if they were handcuffs. The second mural instead depicts two figures who try to unmask each other with one hand, while with the fingers of the other they form an ‘E’ (East) and a ‘W’ (West).
The VICTOR ASH piece, Portuguese born in 1968 who now lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark and a Cosmonaut, who seems to be looking beyond the residents of Kreuzberg. Painted in 2007, it is considered the largest stencil drawing in the world. Like most of his works, this work also explores the contrasts between the object and the environment that inhabits it. 1 December 2014
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