Vienna’s Leading Street Artists
One of the things I enjoy most when visiting a new city is identifying the artists who work there regularly. A beautiful mural can be found almost anywhere in the world, but only when you become familiar with the creators behind it do you begin to understand the true character of the local scene. Every city has its own language, its recurring styles, and the artists who shape its visual identity.
In Vienna, this task is slightly more complex. Unlike cities where a small number of local artists dominate the landscape, Austrian creators work here alongside international artists who come to the city mainly through the Calle Libre Festival or similar projects. The result is a highly diverse mosaic of styles, ideas, and techniques.
During my visit, I encountered works by many artists. Some are well known names in the world of street art, while others are recognised mainly in Austria and Central Europe. What they all share is their contribution to the development of one of the region’s most intriguing scenes.
You can also use the Vienna Graffiti and Street Art Map
- Discover more than 200 graffiti and street art works across the city’s different neighbourhoods
- View the works both on a map and as a list
- Discover the city’s most interesting neighbourhoods and learn where the works are hidden in each one
- Add street art to the route you have planned in advance
- Use the street art map on Google Maps as your navigation map for all the city’s other attractions
Graffiti and street art are constantly changing and dynamic. The appearance of a work on the map does not guarantee that it still exists or that it has not been altered, removed, or erased. The maps are updated every few years and contain approximately 50% of the works found in these neighbourhoods, so there will always be more for you to discover…
Street Artist RUIN
Street Artist Nychos
It is impossible to discuss Austrian street art without mentioning Nychos. Although his works can now be found around the world, he is considered one of the most influential artists to have emerged from Austria.
His style is instantly recognisable. Animals and human figures are opened into colourful anatomical layers that reveal muscles, bones, and internal organs. Although the concept may sound extreme, the result is almost always colourful, humorous, and remarkably precise.
Nychos has succeeded in creating a unique visual language that is almost impossible to confuse with the work of other artists. Even those who do not know his name will usually recognise that the works were created by the same hand.
Street Art Duo Jana & JS
The story of Jana Verhoog and Jean Sébastien Philippe, known as Jana & JS, began in 2005 when they met in Madrid. Jana, who was born in Salzburg, Austria, and Jean Sébastien, who was born in Paris, France, quickly discovered a shared artistic language and began creating together. Since then, they have worked as a single artistic duo, and their works have been exhibited in cities and galleries across Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia.
In addition to being professional partners, Jana and JS are also a couple in their personal lives. Their connection goes far beyond simply dividing the work between them and is expressed through a completely collaborative creative process. Every piece is created through a process in which both are involved at every stage, from choosing the concept and taking the photograph, through processing the image and preparing dozens of stencils, to painting the work on the wall. For this reason, they do not present their works separately, but always under the name Jana & JS, which over the years has become a recognised name in the world of street art.
The THE WEIRD Collective
THE WEIRD is an international collective founded in 2011 that brings together artists from Germany and Austria, most of whom have a deep background in graffiti and illustration. Its members include well known names such as Nychos, DXTR, Cone, Low Bros, and others, each of whom has developed a distinctive personal style while sharing a love of characters, illustration, and a colourful, richly detailed aesthetic.
The group works around the world, creating large scale works, exhibitions, and collaborative projects, but it has an especially close connection to Vienna through Rabbit Eye Movement, an art platform founded in the city by Nychos. Unlike traditional graffiti crews that focus mainly on lettering and signatures, THE WEIRD placed character painting at the centre of its work, creating a visual language that influenced an entire generation of street artists in Europe.
The works created by the collective’s members differ greatly from one another, but they all demonstrate a high level of technical precision, a rich imagination, and an attempt to blur the boundaries between graffiti, illustration, and contemporary art.
Street Artist Martin Monet
Martin Monet is a Swedish street artist based in Stockholm and is considered one of the artists most closely associated with expressive portraits that combine realism with colourful abstraction. His signature style consists of dense layers of vertical lines and dripping paint, creating the illusion of an image being revealed and disintegrating at the same time. Rather than presenting a perfect, clean portrait, Monet chooses to emphasise imperfection and the layers that make up human identity, creating works of great emotional intensity.
His works can be found across Europe, particularly in cities with active street art scenes such as Vienna, where several of his pieces can be seen along the Danube Canal, or Donaukanal. Alongside large scale murals, he also creates studio works and exhibits in galleries, while maintaining a strong connection to public space as a place where art encounters passersby. His portraits, characterised by direct gazes and a rich colour palette, have become an integral part of the visual language associated with his work.
The Local Voice
Alongside the international names, it is important to remember that Vienna’s street art scene relies first and foremost on its local artists. They are the ones working in the city throughout the year, even when the festival is not taking place.
Some focus on large murals, while others work with graffiti, stickers, stencils, or typography. It is precisely the combination of these different forms that creates Vienna’s unique character. This is not a city that relies only on visiting artists, but a place with an active community that continues to create and develop independently.
Among the artists whose works appear in the series of posts about street art and graffiti in Vienna: Martin Monet, Stinkfish, AERO, Aktion451, ACAD, ANTZ, BIRDMAN, BIRNE CREW, Boicut, CHINK, CINS, CORD, Creep65, Darja Šatalová, DSA Seven, EDDY, EXFUERZA, FILL MC, Frau Isa, GABINO, Gera 1, GLOD, GOGIRL, Graffiti Kitty, Guillem Font, Hession & Sun, Interesni Kazki, Invader, Jana & JS, Jakob Skirl, KAM2, Kathe Burkhart, Katie Merz, Kollektiv Kaorle, Ledania, Mael Dito, Marlene Hausegger, MESO, MRA, MROK, NENO, Ninet, Nychos, OBEY, OPA, OSA Seven, Oula Al Khatib, PANZA, PEKS, PHOBIA, PISON, Pixel Pancho, POSE, POTMAV, Purraco, Rabbit Eye Movement, Raffael Strasser, RESG, RIOT1394, Ripoff Crew, ROA, Ruin, SALTO, SAMBA, SHAQ, SHUE4X, SLIDE, Skirl, Sophie Esslinger, TEAM WIEN, The Weird, Thorn Speak, TWOOO, VODA WOTAN, WARS, Werjant, WISTER, YOH, ETAB, Yin
