The Athens’ street art scene is as full as it is vibrant, with its walls covered in the work of graffiti artists of international renown. Here are the biggest names that you’ll come to know as you walk the streets of Athens and the location of some of their works.
See also my guide to where to see the best Athens Street Art.
Rtmone
Originally from Nafplio in the Peloponnese, Rtmone aka Manolis Iliopoulos was a comic book fan from an early age, and his first love is reflected in the art he creates.
His work is playful and childlike that (despite being largely in black and white) brings a certain color and humor to Athens’ public space.
Where to see it:
Rtmone’s Bench is on Mykalis Street, Kerameikos
Alexandros Vasmoulakis
Born and raised in Athens, Alexandros Vasmoulakis is a multi-disciplinary artist best known for his large murals that dominate the city’s streetscape.
Vasmoulakis’s murals have an eclectic style that incorporates stylized almost Tim Burtonesque figures with elements of his fine art training and a previous career in advertising.
Where to see it:
Vasmoulakis’ Mural is above Platia Iroon (Heroes square) in Psyrri
Ino
Credit: Alternative Athens
Classically trained like many of his colleagues, the enigmatic Ino is an internationally recognized artist who paints murals with social and political themes across the city of Athens.
Although largely painted in a photorealistic grayscale, much of Ino’s work frequently incorporates a dash of eye-catching and iconic sky blue.
You will find his murals all over Athens but especially by the Port. You’ll know them by their size and quality – he is an astonishing street artist.
Where to see it:
Access Control is on Mykalis Street, Kerameikos
Fikos
A student of Byzantine iconography from an early age, Antonios Fikos takes an ancient and evocative style and applies it to the contemporary and cutting form of street art.
With themes and designs that run back into the depths of Greece’s past, Fikos has won universal acclaim and is in demand across the world.
Where to see it:
The Creation of Demos in ancient Attica can be found at the Agricultural Department of the University of Athens.
WD (Wild Drawings)
Credit: Dimitris Kamaras
Originally hailing from the Indonesian island of Bali, WD (Wild Drawings) moved to Athens in 2006 and has since made the city his canvas.
With a concentration on creating large-scale art that is perfectly integrated into its surroundings, WD has quickly risen to the top of the Greek street art scene.
Where to see it:
Knowledge Speaks – Wisdom Listens is at Samou Street.
Sonke
Sonke is an artist with a very iconic motif: a monochromatic woman, drawn in clean black lines with long spiralling hair.
Inspired by lost love, this woman (in her various iterations) can be found across the city of Athens, bringing a sense of melancholy to its mean streets. It’s sad but interesting that Sonke painted these images where his ex-girlfriend lived or frequently passed by.
Where to see it:
You’ll find this piece on Klepsydras Street, Plaka
Bleeps.gr
Bleeps.gr (aka V.M. Kakouris) is a highly political street artist, who paints figures in a style that seems straight from the newspaper and is often framed by a deep-sea blue.
Although beginning his street art passion in Bristol, Bleeps found his feet in the protests brought on by the Greek financial crisis in 2008, with much of his work addressing the failings of modern capitalism.
Bleeps.gr has said that “through my art I delicately borrow from the public sphere. I add a discreet depiction of my view on various topics, including politics.”
Where to see it:
Greece next economic model is in central Athens, near the Stock Market.
Stmts
Credit: Dimitris Kamaras
Eschewing spray cans for wheat paste, Athenian artist Stmts (Stamatis) is best known for putting up emotional and politically charged murals of children across the city.
He is a young artist who excels in “paste-ups,” or sticking large pieces of paper onto walls. He is studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts.
These works remind us that hope not only remains but is necessary in the face of the challenges before humanity.
Where to see it:
You can find this piece on Charilaou Trikoupi Street in Exarheia
Oré
Credit: Dimitris Kamaras
Drawing influences from places diverse as Arabic calligraphy and Meso-American design the world-renowned Oré is not actually Athenian himself.
That said over the past few decades this graffiti artist has built a solid connection with the city that has seen his iconographic works proliferate across its walls.
Where to see it:
You can see ‘Athens, Your Children are Calling You’ on Voulis Street.
Dimitris Taxis
Credit: Dimitris Kamara
Born to a Polish art historian and a Greek painter, Dimitris Taxis was born into a creative world and found his niche of graffiti art at an early age.
Ranging from a very fine art style to a more stylized graphic one, Taxis often uses pastels with a focus on the struggles of everyday life.
Where to see it:
You can find Girl with Pigeons on Panos Street, Plaka
Gonzalo Borondo
Another graffiti artist who stops into Athens is the Spaniard Gonzalo Borondo. Drawing inspiration from his art restorer father, Borondo paints in an epic, perhaps even classical, fashion.
But he is not afraid to be wild, expressionistic, and also innovative, pioneering a method of graffiti known as glass scratching to illustrate the boarded-up shopfronts of post-crisis Europe.
He exhibits all over the world and it is a treat to find his work in Athens. There are only a few panes of glass left of this mural.
Where to see it:
Shame is on Konstantinoupoleos Street in Gazi
Simoni Fontana
Primarily based out of Thessalonica, Simoni Fontana has been crowned the Queen of Greek Street Art by her fans, with a style heavily influenced by Japanese design, especially modern manga.
Though primarily working out of her hometown, like collaborator SER, she’s got more than a few pieces on Athenian walls these days.
Where to see it:
You can find this piece on Epikourou Street
Pavlos Tsankonas
Credit: Alternative Athens
Pavlos Tsankonas painted this mural with Manolis Anastaskos. The easiest way to explain Tsankonas’ political art is to let him explain it us:
“In our confused country with all the social-economical-political issues, we can only turn for help to god.
Pavlos Tsankonas
The disability of the politicians to solve problems… have create[d] a system that destroys our values and of course art. This artwork is a sarcastic statement that god is the only solution left for us.”
Where to see it:
He is Praying for Us is at 20 Pireos Street
Woozy
No list of Athenian graffiti artists would be complete without local legend Woozy (Vaggelis Hoursoglou). He is especially well known for his large-scale murals that can now be seen across big public buildings in Athens.
Woozy has a style notable for its colorful non-Euclidean geometry that riots across the surface of otherwise blank space.
Woozy is also a pillar of the street art community, having been a founder of the local Athenian collective Carpe Diem, a key institution in assisting street art’s transition from an illicit art form to one celebrated by the community.
Where to see it:
Look for this enormous Woozy mural above the Monastiraki metro station.
SimpleG
Credit: aesthetics of crisis
Simple G chooses the right “frame” for his street art and then says that the art takes on a life of its own. His images are like beautiful paintings.
He was born on Chios Island but moved as a child to a district in Athens full of graffiti and tags. He has been creating murals since 2009.
This stunning piece of a seated beautiful young woman reading a book was created for the Petite Paris Festival. The theme of the festival was “Cabarets of the World’ and SimpleG created it as a message of hope and inspiration for the sex workers of the area.
Where to see it:
So Many Books, So Little Time is at 2 Megalou Alexandrou Street, Metaxourgeio
But Athens has more than just these famous names. The city’s dynamic street art scene expands and diversifies every day, with new generations of artists bringing their own twist to this most interesting of forms.
Why not hit the streets of Athens yourself to experience the eye-catching and thought-provoking murals up close? Check out my Athens best street art guide, built in collaboration with our friends at Alternative Athens.
Links and Further Information
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