Playing With Concrete (11 Photos)

Concrete is meant to hold weight, guide movement and stay put.

Across these 11 works, artists use concrete and other hard surfaces as part of the image—from a painted waterfall and a winding snake to a giant hand, a watchful eye and tiny chalk characters.

---

🌊 Xenofon Street Waterfall — By Eva Radu in Bucharest, Romania 🇷🇴

Eva Radu painted all 70 steps of Xenofon Street as one continuous mountain cascade. This photo shows her working on the waterfall design, completed on August 30, 2015.

💡 Nerd Fact: The waterfall replaced Radu’s 2014 design of Bucharest landmarks after the earlier paint had deteriorated.

More: Street Art Stairs by Eva Radu at Xenofon Street

🔗 Follow Eva Radu on Instagram

---

🚗 “Classic day” — By Odeith

Odeith painted a grille, headlights and bodywork onto two sides of a battered concrete block, making it look like a vintage black Rolls-Royce. The lower frame shows the same block before it was painted. He shared “Classic day” on Instagram in July 2020.

More: Classic Day — By Odeith

🔗 Follow Odeith on Instagram

---

👁️ “La Mirada Construida” — By David Villaécija in Spain 🇪🇸

The circular tunnel forms the pupil of a vast eye painted across the sloping concrete. In his original post, Villaécija describes “La Mirada Construida” as an invisible trap imposed by society: we think we control what we see, but view the world through a narrow tunnel.

🔗 Follow David Villaécija on Instagram

---

✋ “Holding Hands” — By Dome in Karlsruhe, Germany 🇩🇪

The bridge pillar already supports the deck. Dome painted it as a huge black hand, its fingers pressed against the concrete above. The artist’s own archive identifies it as an acrylic-on-concrete work from April 2013.

More: “Holding Hands” by Dome in Karlsruhe

🔗 Follow Dome on Facebook

---

🔘 “ON / OFF” — By Oakoak in Amsterdam, Netherlands 🇳🇱

A low concrete bollard already had the shape Oakoak needed. Oakoak added ON and OFF labels, turning it into a giant toggle switch. The artist’s official archive dates the Amsterdam intervention to June 2016.

More: Lovely by Oakoak (10 Photos)

🔗 Follow Oakoak on Instagram

---

🐹 “Hattie’s Big Breakthrough” — By David Zinn in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 🇺🇸

Chalk shadows and fragments drawn around the opening make Hattie look as if she has broken through the damaged walkway. Zinn’s official print page identifies it as a chalk-and-charcoal drawing made in Ann Arbor in August 2025.

More: They Look Alive (19 Photos of Art by David Zinn)

🔗 Follow David Zinn on Instagram

---

🐍 “Leyenda Dorada” (“The Golden Legend”) — By SFHIR in Guarda, Portugal 🇵🇹

The Guarda Museum archive records Leyenda Dorada as a 2017 work created for the second edition of the International Symposium of Contemporary Art. Across the stair complex on Rua 31 de Janeiro, sections of the snake disappear behind the concrete flights and reappear higher up.

More: The Golden Legend by SFHIR

🔗 Follow SFHIR on Instagram

---

🔪 “À couteau tiré” — By Seth Globepainter in Grenoble, France 🇫🇷

The festival archive records this 2024 mural at 33 Route de Lyon. A girl hangs from an oversized knife as she cuts open the gray facade, revealing a patch of blue sky behind it.

💡 Language Fact: The French idiom être à couteaux tirés uses couteaux in the plural and means to be on very bad terms with someone. Seth’s title uses the singular, matching the one knife shown in the mural.

More: 8 Times Seth Painted What Childhood Really Feels Like

🔗 Follow Seth Globepainter on Instagram

---

🧳 “Československý exil” (“Czechoslovak Exile”) — By Chemis in Prague, Czech Republic 🇨🇿

Completed in May 2026 at the Československého exilu–Platónova intersection, the mural makes the retaining wall appear to split open around three departing figures. Prague 12’s official artwork record says they represent three waves of people forced to leave: those fleeing Nazism, those who left after the communist regime came to power and those who left after the Soviet invasion of 1968.

🔗 Follow Chemis on Instagram and visit Chemisland

---

🗺️ Ronan and Pete — By David Zinn

Ronan and Pete peek from a chalk-drawn hole in the pavement. Pete wears goggles and holds a map, while Ronan carries a shovel. A shaded rim gives the flat drawing depth. In Zinn’s original post, the pair are “definitely not up to anything” but want to borrow a compass.

More: Silly Art by David Zinn (20 Photos)

🔗 Follow David Zinn on Instagram

---

🪜 “From Here Right Now” — By Panya Clark Espinal in Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦

At Bayview Station, a false stairway crosses the tiled wall, corner and terrazzo floor. It appears distorted from a frontal position but returns to normal proportions when viewed from the intended angle. Clark Espinal’s official project page identifies From Here Right Now as a 2002 public art commission for the Toronto Transit Commission.

💡 Nerd Fact: The installation contains 24 anamorphic images integrated into the station using waterjet-cut porcelain tile and custom terrazzo.

More: Love Waiting Here (14 Stops)

🔗 Follow Panya Clark Espinal on Instagram

---

Which one is your favorite?