
With plenty of concrete, metal, and brick canvases, any big city is bound to be a hotspot for street artists. Whether it’s a massive mural on the side of a building or a small piece in an abandoned doorway, you can find stunning artwork anywhere. But Los Angeles street art can’t be beat. From 50 year old murals deeply rooted in Chicano history to modern artists transforming the most mundane places into veritable galleries, these are some of our favorite pieces of street art in Los Angeles.
1. “To Ukraine with Love” by Corie Mattie & Juliano Trindade
Corie Mattie is behind some of the most recognizable Los Angeles street art, including the recent P-22 mural. She teamed up with tattoo artist Juliano Trindade to create this powerful mural in the Arts District. On the bottom right corner of this eye-catching piece, Mattie included a QR code that takes people to a National Bank of Ukraine donation page for their armed forces.
📍 Arts District
🎨 @coriemattie & @trindadetattoos
2. “Peace To You” by Royyal Dog
A collaboration with creative space The Container Yard, Chris Chanyang Shim aka Royyal Dog painted this piece in 2017. He is known for combining his love of hip hop with his Korean heritage, and often paints African American women in traditional hanbok dresses. Learn more about the piece’s creation here.
📍 Sixth Street Bridge
🎨 @royyaldog
3. “Love Struck” by D*Face
A British artist, D*Face has traveled the world creating his massive and gorgeously cartoonish figures. The wings sticking out of the woman’s head are a staple of his 50s-era figures.
📍 Near Culver City
🎨 @dface_official
4. “Heartship” by How & Nosm
Known professionally as How and Nosm, twin brothers Raoul and Davide Perré have left their distinct red, white, and black artworks in South America, Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States.
5. “Undiscovered America” by Earth Crew 2000
A 30 year old piece that was restored by the original creators in 2018, Undiscovered America was painted to honor indigenous cultures. The Earth Crew 2000 collective was brought together in 1989 by Helen Samuels amid violence and unrest in LA. You can read more about the piece, its history, and its restoration here.
📍 Arts District
🎨 @earthcrew2000
6. “Primate #5506” by OG Slick
Richard P. Wyrgatsch II aka OG Slick purchased a Bored Ape NFT and put his own spin on it. There are thousands of Bored Apes, and OG Slick happened to buy #5506. Rather than give his creation a name, he stuck with the number, citing that incarcerated people are often reduced to just their number as well.
📍 Sixth Street Bridge
🎨 @og_slick
7. Untitled by jawsh3r
Featuring Iztaccíhuatl, the Aztec princess who fell in love with Popocatépetl (the warrior carrying her), this stunning mural was painted by current street artist jawsh3r. He also sells some of his work as pins and stickers, which you can check out here.
📍 EastSide Smoke Shop, Boyle Heights
🎨 @jawsh3r
8. Untitled by Herakut
Herakut is a German duo consisting of Jasmin Siddiqui (aka Hera) and Falk Lehmann (aka Akut). Though many of Herakut’s pieces fall into this type of style, this mural seems to be part of their “Of Warriors & Worriers” series. The series honors people such as humanitarians and environmentalists who stand up for their beliefs.
📍 Pico Gardens
🎨 @herakut
9. Artwork on S Mission Road by Various Artists
At the corner of S Mission Road and Jesse St there are two extensive stretches of street artwork mixed with amazing graffiti art in DTLA. Dozens of tags line one side of the street, and an equal number of murals cover the other. All the works are unique, but they loosely revolve around a War of the Worlds-type alien invasion.
There are certainly artists we’re leaving out, but we were able to attribute at least some of the pieces to Charlie Halstead (aka lunchbarf), Insane Empire, Gel Roc, LSD Crew, Bomb Attack Clan, Bomer, Xtreme, and Dtor.
📍 Sixth Street Bridge
🎨 @lunchbarf, @insane_empire, & @bombattackclan
10. Untitled by Sébastien Walker
Parisian artist Sébastien Walker visited the iconic Sixth Street Bridge in 2021 and left behind one of his signature animal paintings and graffiti art.
📍 Sixth Street Bridge
🎨 @sebastienwalker
11. “Cachicken” by Cache
Originally from Guatemala, Cache uses his most famous chubby poultry character from his “Cachicken” series on this building in Pico Gardens. He is inspired by Carlos Castañeda, who describes people as being “trapped in human chicken coops.”
The horse and octopus piece in the lower left corner appears to be in a different art style, and it’s unclear whether this was Cache’s or another artist’s work.
12. “Creatington” by MrHanStyles aka Han Soloist
MrHanStyles (who sometimes goes by Han Soloist) created this piece in collaboration with the Creatington arts warehouse. Considering the space is an all-purpose studio that anyone can rent out and transform into whatever they wish, this mural is a pretty good ad for it.
13. Untitled by Boxcar Vida
With three sets of eyes staring you down, this striking image is one you can’t help but turn and look at as you drive down E Olympic Blvd.
14. “Dreams of Flight” by David Botello
These next few murals are all from Estrada Courts in Boyle Heights. Called “the site of the 1970s birth of the Chicano Mural Art Movement” by Executive Director of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles Isabel Rojas-Williams, these Boyle Heights paintings first went up in the 1970s.
📍 Estrada Courts, Boyle Heights
15. “We Are Not a Minority” by Mario Torero, Rocky, El Lion, & Zade
A tribute to Che Guevara, this mural was originally painted in 1978 and restored in 1995. Mario Torero was the only original artist who was able to assist in the restoration.
📍 Estrada Courts, Boyle Heights
16. “Organic Stimulus” by Ernesto de la Loza
Originally from Boyle Heights, de la Loza became an artist after his second-grade art teacher told him he drew “wrong.” Painted in ‘75 and restored in 2012, de la Loza created this mural without any reference drawing or pre-concept. Often painting about subjects like global conflict and gang violence, “Organic Stimulus” may be his effort to show people the beauty of the world around them.
📍 Estrada Courts, Boyle Heights
17. “Two Flags” by Sonny Ramirez
In this mural a man holds a baby in one hand and two flags in another, while nearby a woman nurses a baby, another woman helps an injured man, and a futuristic city sits on a cloud. Eagles flank either side of the scene, and it all comes together in a sprawling vision of two cultures on one land.
📍 Estrada Courts, Boyle Heights
18. “Moratorium: The Black and White Mural” by Willie Herrón & Gronk
On August 29, 1970, 30,000 people marched together in East LA as the National Chicano Moratorium Against the Vietnam War. It was one of the largest Mexican-American anti-war demonstrations of all time. Unfortunately, the Sheriff’s Department attacked the march and three people were killed.
This mural condemns the Vietnam war, unjust violence, and police brutality. In the bottom right is a piece that shows Herrón holding his wife, which he added nine years after the original painting.
📍 Estrada Courts, Boyle Heights
19. “Inocencia” by Norma Montoya
Norma Montoya painted this beautiful mural of a girl standing in front of a psychedelic landscape in 1975. The paint has faded quite a bit, but you can see the vibrant colors that she originally used here. Hopefully this piece is restored soon!
📍 Estrada Courts, Boyle Heights
20. “Bad Dreams” by Lauren Ys
Influenced by everything—including dreams, mythology, death, comics, love, sex, psychedelia, animation and their Asian-American heritage—Lauren Ys’ work covers a broad range of styles, scope, and media.
📍 Sixth Street Bridge
🎨 @squid.licker
21. Untitled by David Puck
We couldn’t find an official title for this piece, but Puck does refer to it as a “spider lady rainbow-eyed fantasy.” He also added that it was just a “quick mural,” which is mind-boggling considering how unique it is.
You may also recognize the Gerber-baby-like boy’s head in the top right corner. This is a design called Nicky by @nickynailedit, who has plastered the image all across LA. According to the artist, Nicky is “keeping the childhood spirit alive.”
📍 Arts District
🎨 @davidpuckartist
22. “Dia de Muertos” by Nuke One
Featuring commentary on the alt-right, Black Lives Matter, violence towards Asian communities, and more, this 2021 mural is so big and dense that it was hard to get in a single photo.
23. “Beer Pong” by Rerun
Painted just five months ago, this mural may not be a piece of political activism, but who doesn’t love cats and “White Paws”?
📍 Arts District
🎨 @rottencat27
24. Untitled by Vyal & Risk
Painted in 2014, this spaced-out mural across the front of a building is the collaboration between two LA graffiti veterans. Vyal has been working in Los Angeles since 1990 and has worked with companies like Lexus, Redbull, and Louboutin. Risk has collaborated with blink-182, Aerosmith, and Michael Jackson.
25. Jim Morrison Wall by Rip Cronk
Muralist Rip Cronk is a legendary figure in Venice Beach, with his artwork scattered throughout the area. One of Cronk’s most striking pieces, however, is one of the simplest: a towering image of the iconic Jim Morrison set against a plain background. Morrison, who frequented Venice and enjoyed his favorite burger spot there, also paid tribute to the city in his rock classic, “L.A. Woman.”
26. “Legends are forever” by Royyal Dog
In Kobe’s own words, “Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.” This sentiment was brilliantly captured by Royyal Dog (Chris Changyang Shim), a Korean graffiti writer and street artist based in L.A. Royyal Dog is renowned for his photorealistic murals of African American women dressed in traditional Korean hanbok.
📍Downtown Los Angeles
🎨@royyaldog
27. “Great Wall of Los Angeles” by Judith F. Baca
The Great Wall of Los Angeles, also known as The History of California, is a half-mile-long mural that portrays California’s history through depictions of influential figures and key events from diverse and traditionally marginalized communities. Measuring 13.5 feet in height and 2,754 feet in length, it stands as one of the largest murals in the world.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of Los Angeles street art. There’s plenty more neighborhoods full of vibrant murals and unique designs, such as Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Highland Park, just to name a few. So head out and discover some stunning artwork for yourself!
Edited by Sofía Delpueche.