11 Impressive Murals by Studio Giftig

Studio Giftig: Niels van Swaemen and Kaspar van Leek

Studio Giftig is the Dutch artist duo of Niels van Swaemen, born in Eindhoven in 1981, and Kaspar van Leek, born in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, in 1983. They met in 2007, began working in an empty warehouse, and devoted themselves to murals full-time in 2012.

The name came from that first warehouse. They stored their paint and spray cans in a room intended for toxic materials; giftig is Dutch for “toxic.” Their murals often focus on trust, care, age, identity, music, and the small ways people connect.

They photograph their own models and objects, then build an original composition for each wall. Their subjects here include a 103-year-old local woman, two generations sharing an embrace, and musicians from different worlds.

Their mural Trashure took first place in Street Art Cities’ Best of 2022, and Echoes of Harmony won the 2024 Expert Spotlight category.

One thing links these murals: the people remain recognizable even when the objects and settings around them do not follow ordinary rules.

🔗 Follow Studio Giftig on Instagram and see more in the duo’s official portfolio

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🌼 “Inner Peace” — St. Petersburg, Florida, USA 🇺🇸

A woman lies on a mirror, but both she and her reflection look straight at us. Studio Giftig created Inner Peace for Reggae Rise Up at Vinoy Park, with Ashlynn Davan as the model. Street Art Cities now lists the work as removed. The golden chrysanthemum stands for happiness, health, and loyalty. The two gazes make the mirror image impossible.

💡 Nerd Fact: In East Asian ink-painting traditions, the chrysanthemum is one of the “Four Gentlemen,” alongside plum blossom, orchid, and bamboo. The Metropolitan Museum of Art identifies the quartet as a favored subject of literati painters.

More: When Nature Becomes Art (12 Photos)

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🐦 “Silent Reflection” — Lommel, Belgium 🇧🇪

A song thrush rests on the woman’s finger while pale reflections of branches and blossom cross the glass-like surface. The details in Silent Reflection come from Lommel. According to local reporting, the reflected landscape refers to the Sahara nature reserve, the thrush to culture and experience, and the elderberries to regional produce. Residents also contributed ideas and drawings to the final design. Brenda Ketelaars modeled for the mural, painted on the sports hall at ’t Stekske, Luikersteenweg 460.

💡 Nerd Fact: Lommel’s “Sahara” is partly the result of industry. Construction of a zinc and sulfuric acid factory began in 1904; cadmium and lead emissions destroyed nearby heath vegetation, and by the 1930s wind across the exposed ground had produced about 600 hectares of drifting sand. Visit Lommel records this history.

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🤍 “Soul Flora – Trust Part 2” — Wuppertal, Germany 🇩🇪

An older woman closes her eyes and holds a younger woman close. White roses grow through their clothes and drift into the dark wall. Studio Giftig describes the work as a tribute to love, wisdom, and quiet trust between generations, with the roses symbolizing the purity of the bond. Sophie van Helvoort and Marianne Jansen were the models. The mural was created for Urbaner KunstRaum Wuppertal at Lenneper Str. 28.

💡 Nerd Fact: Studio Giftig’s portfolio lists the gallery works Soul Flora, Trust and Soul Flora, Elegance alongside the murals Trust Part 2, Elegance Part 2, and Resurgence.

More: Made You Feel Connected (8 Photos)

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🛟 “Safe Return” — Morlaix, France 🇫🇷

She looks past us rather than at us. Safe Return shows a fisherman’s wife waiting for her husband to come home. Maritime objects surround her, while tobacco leaves rise behind her as a direct link to the former tobacco factory at Morlaix’s port. The model was Ria Klessens. The official 2021 Morlaix Arts Tour guide locates the mural at 2bis voie d’accès au port.

💡 Nerd Fact: The Morlaix tobacco factory was built between 1736 and 1740 to designs by architect Jean-François Blondel. At its peak in the 1880s, it employed up to 1,800 people, and its final workshop closed in 2004. Espace des Sciences de Morlaix preserves the site’s chronology.

More: Safe Return — Mural by Studio Giftig in Morlaix, France

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🎶 “Echoes of Harmony” — Eindhoven, Netherlands 🇳🇱

A street musician and a concert violinist embrace on the façade of Muziekgebouw Eindhoven at Jan van Lieshoutstraat 11. One holds a harmonica; the other holds a violin. Studio Giftig based the mural on music’s ability to break down barriers and bring people together, using Bert and Luka van de Looij as models. Commissioned by Eindhoven City Council, it won Street Art Cities’ 2024 Expert Spotlight category.

💡 Nerd Fact: The models are father and daughter, not the musicians they represent. Luka van de Looij told Omroep Brabant that she cannot play the violin, while Bert van de Looij said he cannot read music. Their musical connection is the music café they run in Veldhoven.

More: Street Art With Its Own Soundtrack (10 Photos)

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🍎 “River of Knowledge” — Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA 🇺🇸

A woman stands in deep teal water holding a glowing apple. More illuminated apples float around her. Studio Giftig calls the work River of Knowledge, with Venus Karim as the model. Downtown Fort Wayne and Art This Way brought the mural to the north-facing wall at 206 Pearl Street. The water refers to Fort Wayne’s three rivers; the apples refer both to Johnny Appleseed and to knowledge and insight.

💡 Nerd Fact: Johnny Appleseed was a real nurseryman named John Chapman, not just a figure from folklore. Chapman bought two parcels east of Fort Wayne in 1834. One became a 42-acre nursery planted with 15,000 trees. He died in 1845, and the precise location of his grave remains disputed. Visit Fort Wayne summarizes the local record.

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🌸 “Belfast Spring” — Belfast, Northern Ireland 🇬🇧

Blue flax flowers open across a lavender wall while loose petals pass in front of Nienke Geven’s face. Painted for Hit the North on James Street South, the mural links its flowers to Belfast’s linen history and the idea of a new beginning. Studio Giftig identifies the wall as a former linen mill, while the Linen Quarter BID records the work as a 12-metre-high commission.

💡 Nerd Fact: Between 1870 and 1914, Belfast’s central position in Irish linen production earned it the name “Linenopolis.” The Linen Hall notes that the industry shaped the city’s growth and the buildings in which linen was made, embellished, and traded.

More: Studio Giftig’s Flax Flower Mural at Hit the North 2023

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🌈 “Kleur” — Deventer, Netherlands 🇳🇱

An older woman’s face anchors portraits of two younger women and a child, along with pigeons, leaves, a streetlamp, and fragments of Deventer. The mural covers more than 100 square metres on Deltalaan. It was created with Dutch musician Snelle and inspired by his song Kleur. Street Art Streets lists the local details: Bergstraat and Bergkerk, pigeons from the song’s video, leaves from Deventer’s old Bakenboom, and Pleun’s Regenboogijsje hidden as an Easter egg. Bep Spa, Sumchog Kersbergen, Sarah, and Jesper modeled for the composition.

💡 Nerd Fact: Deventer’s old Bakenboom once served as a navigation marker for shipping on the IJssel. The City of Deventer records that function.

More: Art That Completely Changes the City (8 Photos)

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❤️ “Wild Hearts” — The Hague, Netherlands 🇳🇱

Floating figures, birds, flowers, and smaller scenes run up the 50-metre wall. Wild Hearts takes its cue from the song by DI-RECT and its theme of following your own path and living fully. In the duo’s description, the figures open their coats and release a “light of life.” Bregje van Gerwen and Jan-Henk van Ieperen modeled for the central figures. The Hague’s official visitor guide identifies it as a 50-metre mural created with DI-RECT and housing association Staedion. The mural is at Willem Dreespark 196.

💡 Nerd Fact: DI-RECT formed in The Hague in 1999, making the song-based wall a hometown commission. The band’s artist profile records its Hague origin, while Studio Giftig identifies Wild Hearts as the fifth work in its Music & Murals series.

More: See the 50-Metre Wild Hearts Mural (7 Photos)

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🌼 “Petals of Time” — Ticonderoga, New York, USA 🇺🇸

Belva Blood was 103 when Studio Giftig painted her portrait across the rear of 119 Montcalm Street. She looks upward while white chrysanthemums and green leaves move around the building’s windows. Walls Between Waters links the flowers to purity, longevity, and continuity, and to the way knowledge and stories pass between generations. Studio Giftig’s own account describes Belva as someone who has meant a great deal to Ticonderoga.

💡 Nerd Fact: The festival name Walls Between Waters echoes the traditional meaning given to Ticonderoga. The town’s official history gives its name the approximate meaning “the place between two waters”, referring to its position between Lake George and Lake Champlain.

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🏀 “Look Up” — Voiron, France 🇫🇷

A young girl looks toward an older athlete as basketballs, fabric, and iris flowers rise through electric blue light. The title points to the older athlete as someone the child can look up to. Created with Street Art Fest Grenoble-Alpes for the PVBC Life by PLURALIS project at 88 Avenue Philippe Vial, the mural was part of a social project helping children join local sports clubs. Studio Giftig says the iris flowers represent inspiration and the older athlete is the child’s role model.

💡 Nerd Fact: Pays Voironnais Basket Club is a women’s basketball club founded in 2012 as the successor to Étoile de Voiron. The club records that succession on its official site.

More: “Look Up” by Studio Giftig in Voiron, France

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Which one is your favorite?