Berlin is often called the capital of street art, because it is everywhere: in bohemian neighborhoods, art galleries, on abandoned houses and the facades of high-rise buildings in the east of the city. Unlike other cities in Europe, where street art appeared in the 1980s, murals and graffiti began appearing on the Berlin Wall as early as the 1960s, and since then the city has been continuously covered with new layers of paint. Building owners and the government invite artists from all over the world to paint for royalties, and galleries constantly hold exhibitions and festivals. Street art has become as much a part of Berlin as the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and techno parties.
Today we will talk about one of the most popular types of Berlin street art – murals (monumental frescoes on the facades and walls of buildings). The most famous of them are located in three areas of Berlin: Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Schöneberg, and can be explored in a day. Murals differ from graffiti in that they are created with the permission of the authorities, they are not knocked down or painted over, and they are understandable to everyone.
1. Mural by artist JR in Prenzlauer Berg
Photo: @visit_berlin/Instagram.com
This is one of the works of the Wrinkles of the City project, in which street art artist JR placed huge black and white photographs of elderly Berliners on 15 walls and facades of high-rise buildings to show how the city and its inhabitants changed in the 20th century. JR is a French artist who lives and works in Paris and Berlin and has exhibited in America, Asia and Europe. Of his 15 murals in Berlin, one survived, in the Prenzlauer Berg area, the rest gradually collapsed due to snow and rain.
Address: façade of the house at Torstraße 1 from Prenzlauer Allee, 10119 Berlin.
2. Mural by artist Agostino Iacurci in the Kreuzberg district
Photo: @berlinlikealocalpics/Instagram.com
This vibrant mural by the Italian artist was created as part of the We are Creative in Puglia project to mark the 26th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is located in a special place: it was here, on Heinrich-Heine-Straße, that there was a checkpoint between West and East Berlin. The fresco depicts two faces facing each other, they symbolize day and night, as well as the inextricable connection between the inhabitants of the city, separated by the Berlin Wall. The author of the work is Italian illustrator Agostino Iacurci, who became interested in street art in 2008 and has since created more than 20 murals around the world. The distinctive features of his style are laconicism, bright colors, simplified forms.
Address: Prinzenstraße 35, 10969 Berlin.
3. “Dedicated to” by Various & Gould in the Prenzlauer Berg area
Photo: @variousandgould/Instagram.com
Various & Gould are a duo of young artists from Berlin, known for their installations, silkscreen posters and murals, which they exhibit on the streets of the city, as well as in art galleries in Germany, England and America. In their works, artists often address themes of ecology and social and racial inequality. Their latest mural, “Dedicated to,” was completed in 2017 on the façade of the Hotel Oderberger Berlin. It depicts a worker walking through a surreal space, holding a smoking pipe in his hand.
Address: Oderberger Str. 57, 10435 Berlin.
4. “Astronaut Cosmonaut” by Victor Ash in the Kreuzberg area
Photo: David Gannon/AFP
This mural of a huge astronaut floating in the street was created during the Berlin street art festival Backups in 2007 and quickly became one of the symbols of the Kreuzberg district. In the dark, the shadow of a flag mounted on a nearby building falls on the wall with the astronaut, which is illuminated by spotlights. This makes it appear as if the astronaut is planting a flag on the moon, reminiscent of the confrontation between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. The creator of the mural, Viktor Ash, was born in Portugal, grew up in France, lives in Denmark, and his works often have political overtones.
Address: Oranienstraße 195, 10999 Berlin.
5. “Pink Man” by Blu in Kreuzberg
Photo: @gregorwinter/Instagram.com
A mural of a huge pink monster, consisting of hundreds of little people, eating itself, appeared as part of the street art festival Backjumps Festival in 2007. The author of this mural is a famous street art artist from Bologna, working under the pseudonym Blu, who has been creating murals all over the world since 1999. Each of the frescoes was made for a specific building, fits perfectly into the surrounding space and is distinguished by sharp social satire. “The Pink Man” criticizes the cruelty and senselessness of consumer society.
Address: Falckensteinstraße 48, next to the Oberbaum bridge.
6. “Nature Morte” by the artist Roa in the Schöneberg district
Photo: @photocasillas12/Instagram.com
This mural is one of the most famous and shocking in Berlin. It was created in 2011 during the Transit street art festival, organized by the Skalitzers Contemporary Art gallery. The fresco realistically depicts a dead hare, heron and roe deer suspended by their paws. Below the roe deer lies the carcass of a goat. The author of the mural, Belgian artist Roa, began painting black and white murals at the age of 13 and quickly became famous. Most often he depicts wild and domestic animals. The artist has repeatedly spoken out against hunting for pleasure and painted this work for the same purpose.
Address: Oranienstraße 2, next to the U Görlitzer Bahnhof metro station, 10997 Berlin.
7. Mural by the artist Phlegm in the Schöneberg district
Photo: @phlegm_art/Instagram.com
British cartoonist and illustrator Phlegm created this mural as part of the One Wall Project. Previously, the artist worked in book illustration, but in recent years he became interested in street art. In most of the murals, he depicts characters from his comics, who, as the artist puts it, “inhabit the urban space and transform it.” Phlegm’s works are distinguished by complex compositions, many detailed characters and masterful work with the surrounding space.
Address: parking at the intersection of Alvenslebenstraße and Kirchbachstraße, 10783 Berlin.
8. “Elephant Playing with World Balloon” by Jadore Tong in Kreuzberg
Photo: @sillysis.nl/@natxmc/Instagram.com
This is one of the brightest and most cheerful murals in Berlin. It depicts in a realistic manner an elephant playing with the Earth in the form of a balloon. Its author is the Berlin-based artist of French-Colombian origin Jadore Tong, aka S.Y.R.U.S, equally known as a muralist, designer and illustrator. Most of his works do not have a pronounced social connotation, they are distinguished by bright colors, detail and a high level of realism.
Address: back of the house at Wilhelmstraße 7, next to the basketball court.
9. Mural of the Os Gêmeos collective in Kreuzberg
Photo: @tittalis/Instagram.com
The Yellow Man is one of the most famous murals in Berlin, created in 2005 as part of the Deitch Projects. Its authors are Brazilian twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, working under the name Os Gêmeos. Artists create murals, graffiti and installations all over the world, the main characters of their murals are yellow men with large heads and thin limbs, which either occupy the entire space of the wall alone, or are part of a multi-colored fantasy world.
Address: Oppelner Straße 3, 10997 Berlin.
10. “Rounded Heads” by artist Nomad in the Kreuzberg area
Photo: @miriamoutaa/Instagram.com
Nomad is one of the most famous street art artists in Berlin. During his 20 years of work in the city, he created several thousand graffiti of all types and sizes – from murals to marker graffiti on walls and trash cans. Nomad does not have his own style – he calls himself a global vagabond, using any materials, techniques and styles so as not to limit his creative impulse. Rounded Heads, which features characters drawn in a pictogram style devouring each other, is considered one of Berlin’s most popular murals. Having seen this mural in 2009, actors Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher invited the artist to decorate their villa, and he agreed.
Address: Oppelner Str. 46, 10997 Berlin.
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