Playful Street Art (12 Photos)
Content warning: Which one is your favorite?
From a sun-drawing child towering over snowy rooftops in Kazakhstan to mischievous interventions on traffic signs and bollards in Paris, this playful collection of urban artworks brings charm and surprise to everyday streets. Featuring works from artists like Pure Evil, Le CyKlop, and Michael Tsinoglou, these installations reimagine dull objects into moments of delight.
More!: 9 Sculptures You (Probably) Didn’t Know Existed
1. Drawing the Sun — TANAI & Ali Zakir in Almaty, Kazakhstan
A large mural of a barefoot child in patterned trousers and blue hoodie appears to draw a giant sun onto the side of an apartment block. The piece uses a strong upward perspective to enhance the child’s scale, adding warmth and innocence to the snowy urban setting.
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2. Dinner Sign
A red “Do Not Enter” traffic sign is transformed into a minimalist bar scene. Three stick figures are seated and standing across the white strip, with one drinking from a martini glass.
3. Electrocuted Homer — Oakoak in France
Homer Simpson is painted in cartoon style, appearing to be electrocuted by a wall-mounted electrical box. His body is contorted in shock, cleverly interacting with real wires and outlets. More by Oakoak!: From Homer Simpson to Obelix: Oakoak’s Genius Street Art! (10 Photos)
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4. I Am a Unicorn — Pure Evil in East London, England
A realistic black-and-white rhino stands against a dark wall with the words “I AM A UNICORN” painted above in bright blue. The contrast between text and imagery creates a deadpan visual joke.
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5. Live Like a Child — Michael Tsinoglou in Naxos, Greece
A boy painted on a whitewashed alley wall leans out as if about to surprise a passerby with a cake. The playful illusion blends seamlessly into the narrow street.
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6. Hugging Cabinets — Adam Okuciejewski and Szymon Czarnowski in Olsztyn, Poland
Two electrical boxes are painted with expressive cartoon eyes and a long arm reaching across to hug the smaller box. The minimal graffiti turns utility objects into characters.
7. Mini Me — Andy Dice Davies in England
A girl wearing a hoodie with white stars stands beside a painted version of herself on a green utility box. Both wear sunglasses and strike matching poses.
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8. Lego Bollards — Le CyKlop in Paris, France
Blue street bollards are topped with yellow, drippy Lego-style heads painted with expressive faces, transforming a row of posts into a cast of characters. More!: Le CyKlop – Turning the Ordinary into One-Eyed Wonders
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9. Rose of Joy — Victor García Repo & Nerea Bernal in San Lorenzo de la Parrilla, Spain
A cheerful mural showing a kid crouched in a 3D illusion frame, offering a red rose. With orange cap, shiny jacket, and a smiley face on the shirt, the piece radiates optimism and warmth. Painted by Victor García Repo and Nerea Bernal.
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10. Lamp Post Lovers
A whimsical sculpture of two street lamps bending together as if sharing a quiet moment on a park bench. The scene feels alive, with one small cat-like figure nearby completing the playful illusion.
11. Wall Face — Nikita Nomerz in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
This mural turns a cracked wall into a face with expressive eyes and a wide grin formed by the building’s crumbling bricks. Nomerz is known for transforming decay into personality, finding humor in imperfection. More!: 17 Times Nikita Nomerz Brought Walls to Life
12. The Mask — DavidL in Barcelona, Spain
A vivid mural inspired by the film “The Mask,” painted on an old wall where the character’s exaggerated green face bursts with energy. The bright yellow hat and the small dog beside the wall add to the comic effect. More!: Surreal Art By DavidL! (15 Photos)
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More!: Repairing Streets with Artful Mosaics (14 Photos)
Which one is your favorite?
9 Sculptures You (Probably) Didn’t Know Existed
From a 50-foot Native American monument overlooking the Missouri River to a surreal hammock strung across a border fence, these sculptures push the boundaries of form, meaning, and public space. Whether constructed from stone, steel, wire, or illusion, each work defies convention — and chances are, you haven’t seen them before. Locations span from Barcelona to Philadelphia, from South Dakota plains to Turkish landscapes.
More: 8 Inspiring Sculptures Seamlessly Integrated with Nature
1. Melancholy — Albert György in Geneva, Switzerland
This bronze sculpture of a seated figure appears hollowed out from within, forming an arched void from chest to head. The minimalist facial features and slumped posture evoke absence and loss, using emptiness as its central element.
2. Window and Ladder – Too Late for Help — Leandro Erlich in Montevideo, Uruguay
A fragment of brick wall with a single window floats mid-air, supported by a ladder that leads nowhere. Placed in an empty lot, this illusion-based sculpture alters space and challenges logic.
3. Border Hammock — Murat Gök in Istanbul, Turkey
Two fence poles curve inward to cradle a man resting in a hammock made from the fence itself. By bending an otherwise rigid border element into a place of rest, the sculpture offers a quiet yet clever political statement.
4. Freedom — Zenos Frudakis in Philadelphia, USA
This bronze wall shows four human forms in various stages of breaking free, culminating in a fully emerged figure stepping into open space. It explores transformation and personal liberation.
5. Giant Slingshot Bench — Cornelia Konrads in Germany
A wooden bench is suspended by two long red straps tied to a massive Y-shaped branch. The setup mimics a slingshot ready to launch, blending utility with playful imagination.
6. Dignity — Dale Lamphere in Chamberlain, South Dakota, USA
Standing 50 feet tall, this stainless steel monument honors Native American women. The figure wears a star quilt composed of blue diamond shapes that shimmer in the wind.
7. The Kiss of Death — Unknown Artist in Barcelona, Spain
This marble sculpture in Poblenou Cemetery shows a skeleton with wings gently kissing the forehead of a lifeless young man. Created in 1930, it’s both romantic and haunting.
8. The Weight of Grief — Celeste Roberge in Portland, Maine, USA
A crouched human form is constructed from a metal frame filled with smooth river stones. The heavy material and posture communicate emotional burden through literal weight.
9. UMI — Daniel Popper in Lisle, Illinois, USA
This monumental figure is composed of sculpted wood and branches shaped into a female form. Her hands and body are formed by intertwining tree limbs, suggesting organic unity.More: When Street Art Meets Nature (40 Photos)
Which one is your favorite?
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