American Street Art (12 Photos)

Wait, that’s not supposed to be there

A concrete wall leaks blue tape onto the sidewalk, and a parked car in New York asks strangers to draw on it. The rest of this set from American artists and places works the same way: it starts with something ordinary and adds one thing nobody expected.

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💧 “L.A. Leaker” — By Aakash Nihalani

A security guard stands next to a hole that isn’t there. Black lines and flat blue tape turn a stained concrete wall into a blocky opening, and two blue strips run down to the pavement as if the sky were leaking out. Nihalani made “L.A. Leaker” from tape alone.

💡 Nerd Fact: Nihalani was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, and studied art in New York. He told designboom that working with tape sets his work apart from other street art because it “revels in the temporary.”

More: Street Art by Aakash Nihalani

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🍾 Hanging Bottle Illusion — By Carl Leck in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 🇺🇸

A glass bottle appears to hang from metal supports in front of the brick wall, with painted reflections and a broad shadow to give it weight. The real windows show how large the illusion is, and NINE dot ARTS points viewers to a “Stand Here” cap on the sidewalk for the best angle.

💡 Nerd Fact: The bottle has a local connection: this is the Bottleworks District, a former Coca-Cola bottling plant. The National Park Service records its conversion into a mix of hotel, shops, dining and entertainment.

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🚗 Draw on Me — By Philip Romano in New York City, USA 🇺🇸

A man leans over the hood with a piece of chalk while a small crowd waits its turn. The whole car is a blackboard, and the orange plate says DRAW ON ME. Philip Romano, then a 20-year-old student, coated his 2004 Hyundai Elantra with four cans of chalkboard paint, parked it around the city and left chalk for strangers.

💡 Nerd Fact: The drawings are not permanent: a little rain wipes the board clean, so the car is ready for new artists. Romano said: “It’s kind of like a puppy, you can’t help but smile when you see it.”

More: Philip Romano’s Chalkboard Car

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🛩️ “World in Progress II” — By Saype in New York City, USA 🇺🇸

Seen from the air, two children kneel side by side, folding paper, while stick figures hold hands around them. Saype painted the 11,000-square-meter image on the North Lawn of the United Nations headquarters in September 2021, using biodegradable paint made from natural pigments such as charcoal and chalk.

💡 Nerd Fact: This is the second half of a pair. The first part was painted at the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva in 2020, as Switzerland’s gift for the organization’s 75th anniversary.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsWorld in Progress IISaype · 2021 · North Lawn, UN Headquarters, New York11,000 m² of grassSwiss gift for UN at 75Part II after Geneva 20201UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis inaugurated it on 18 September 2021.Swiss Federal Council2According to Switzerland’s mission, the paint was made of water, chalk and charcoal, and Guterres said the work would disappear within weeks.Switzerland in the UN202118 SepUN event note202118 SepInauguration photos202118 SepSwiss government release202120 SepI Support Street Art report202122 SepBrooklyn Street Art reportRead the full file →

More: World in Progress II by Saype

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👀 “The Eyes” — By Cobre in Great Falls, Montana, USA 🇺🇸

Two eyes stretch across a long, low building, staring over an almost empty patch of asphalt. Two orange cones sit beneath the face. With so little else on the wall, the brows, lashes and reflected light do all the work. The Argentinian muralist painted the wall at 815 1st Avenue North for ArtsFest MONTANA in the summer of 2022, and it was later named among Street Art Cities’ top 100 murals of that year.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe EyesCobre · 2022 · 815 1st Avenue North, Great Falls, MontanaArtsFest MONTANA 2022Top 100 of 2022No. 25 (Montana Right Now)1The Electric reports Street Art Cities named it among the top 100 murals worldwide for 2022.The Electric2KRTV: the mural is on the east side of the building at 815 First Avenue North, painted by muralist Cobre.KRTV202211 AugFestival wall list202231 DecStreet Art Cities listing20233 JanClio entry202317 JanTop 100 news202322 JanKRTV photo20232 FebRanked no. 25Read the full file →

More: The eyes – Mural by Cobre in Great Falls, Montana, USA

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🐠 “Hagerfest Goldfish” — By Christian Stanley in Hagerstown, Maryland, USA 🇺🇸

Three enormous goldfish fill a narrow vertical wall between the parking decks, like a very tall aquarium. Christian Stanley painted “Hagerfest Goldfish” from a forklift during Hagerfest 2026 and used the height of the wall to change perspective, so each fish’s expression shifts with how high or low it sits.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHagerfest GoldfishChristian Stanley · 2026 · Downtown Hagerstown, MarylandNational Mural Awards 2026Parking-deck towerThree giant goldfish1Each goldfish changes its expression depending on how high or low it sits on the wall, Stanley said (DC News Now).DC News Now2Main Street Hagerstown lists Stanley among the four National Mural Awards muralists of Hagerfest, 2 May 2026.Main Street Hagerstown20261 MayPainting from a forklift202614 MayLocalNews1 photo20261 JulArtists named in magazine20261 SepOrganizers’ mural pageRead the full file →

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🦝 Aiden Checks the World — By David Zinn in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 🇺🇸

A small creature peers up from a staircase drawn on a flat slab among the leaves, one paw raised as if testing the air. Zinn improvises his drawings on location with chalk, charcoal and found objects, and here a handful of chalk shadows turns the ground into a front door.

More: Silly Art By David Zinn (20 Photos)

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📞 “Telefòn” — By Seth in Miami, Florida, USA 🇺🇸

Two children kneel by a turquoise wall with phone receivers at their ears. Their curly cords run up the wall and into the barbed wire that already sat on top of it, so the wire becomes their phone line. Seth painted it in Little Haiti for Made in Haiti, his May 2019 show in Miami with photographer Martha Cooper after a trip to Haiti that March.

More: Clever Street Art That Feels Made for the Spot (10 Photos)

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🛏️ A Home Drawn on Concrete — By Skid Robot in Los Angeles, California, USA 🇺🇸

A man sleeps on a mattress against a bare concrete wall. On the wall behind him someone has drawn a TV, a window, a dresser and a birdcage, so his spot gets the outline of a room. Skid Robot is an anonymous Los Angeles artist who paints furniture and bedrooms where homeless people sleep, around Skid Row.

More: Made You Think (9 Photos)

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🐟 Koi in Motion — By AG PNT in Miami, Florida, USA 🇺🇸

A covered walkway at a middle school, a concrete floor, and three koi swimming across a black wall as if it were a pond. The dark background does the work: the fish seem to float in front of it. AG PNT painted it at Madison Middle School for aWall Mural Projects, which brings artists to Miami-Dade schools.

More: When Nature Becomes Art (12 Photos)

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🐯 Tiger at Somerset Middle School — By Cameron “CAMER1sf” Moberg in Modesto, California, USA 🇺🇸

A beige wall, a pillar down the middle, and a tiger roaring out of a jungle of poppies and butterflies. The pillar cuts the picture in two, but the tiger carries straight across it. Moberg painted it for the students of Somerset Middle School.

More: When Nature Steals The Show (12 Photos)

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🪷 Golden Lotus — By Konorebi in Oakland, California, USA 🇺🇸

One flower fills the whole side of an apartment building, petals painted in soft gold against a plum wall. The building is Sen Lake, a 91-home affordable-housing development at 121 East 12th Street, and Konorebi explained in her post that sen means lotus in Vietnamese.

📷 Photo: Zach Bruce

More: New Great And Clever Street Art! (20 Photos, Vol. 13)

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