Brighton Graffiti and Street Artists to look out for in the city

We’ve been spending a bit of time recently in Brighton. That creative city by the sea it’s only a short train ride from London. It’s a place where the energy hits you as soon as you get off at the station.

In particular we’ve been working with Art Republic which is based down there on Bond Street. With them we’ve been putting together a series of podcasts called ‘Art Related Nonsense‘ which is all about trying to capture what’s happening on the art scene today.

Massive mural of dogs

Our most recent trip took us to visit REQ, a Brighton based artist. We first actually met him and interviewed him for the blog back in 2013 when he held a show in London. Starting on the graffiti scene in 1984, he was there at the beginning of the movement which we now know as street art.

REQ is an artist who you can’t fail to spot when visiting Brighton. Along with a number of other core Brighton based artists they form the nucleus of the growing street art scene in the city. For us, the city certainly sits alongside London and Bristol as one of the top three street art destination cities in the UK.

A portrait of REQ’s muse ‘Smudge’

Now REQ is joining forces with Art Republic to put on a street art tour. Something that he has run in the city for a while now. This latest version will start at the gallery and then take in some of the key spots in the city. You can find out more about that here.

So anyway we’ll probably talk more about our interview with REQ in a later post. But first we just wanted to focus on some of those artists helping to make the Brighton scene what it is today.

Brighton Graffiti and Street Artists to Watch Out For

COSMO SARSON

A relative newcomer to Brighton he made a splash with his first mural, the Angel of Brighton. Featuring a woman leaping up to the sky against a backdrop of shimmering gold it’s become a must see on the Brighton street art route. You can read our interview with him from earlier in the year here.

Cosmo Sarson by his mural, ‘The Angel of Brighton’

FEK

Known for his graffiti writing where he paints ‘FEK’ the artist is also known for his ‘grumpy monkey’ which can be seen dotted around.

GLIMMERTWIN

Look out for his birds, animals and comic book inspired murals. We don’t know a great deal about Glimmertwin other than what’s on his instagram but keep your eyes peeled and you’ll soon recognise his work.

Venom by Glimmertwin painted in Brighton

ISOR

Graffiti writer writing ‘ISOR’ his work can be seen hidden around the back streets of the city. He will often paint with fellow Brighton based writer Vodker

MADDERDOIT

Stencil artist who uses a combination of stencil and freehand to make his works. When on the street he’ll try to incorporate the image into the environment around. Look out for his silhouetted figures inside dooways and hidden away on walls.

MAZCAN

Known for her images of female faces. Mazcan will take images from magazines she feels a connection to and recreate them on the wall.

Piece from Mazcan on Trafalgar Lane in Brighton

MINTY

Building ever more of a name for himself with his pop art inspired paste ups. They draw much from the work of Roy Liechtenstein and really add a vibrant bit of a visual ‘pop’ to the streets.

Pop Art style paste ups in Brighton from Minty

REQ

On the scene since 1984, he is one of the pioneers of the graffiti art scene although now his style has changed to what he calls spray paint realism. His work centres around the painting of a muse who he calls ‘Smudge’. You can read our interview with him from 2013 here.

Req standing by his wall of dead musicians on the side of the Prince Albert pub

SINNA ONE

Sinna One is known for his recognizable robot. A regular on the scene he will regularly collaborate with others and is a prolific street painter. We’ve bumped into him a few times now on Trafalgar Lane, one of the top spots for seeing street art in the city. Sinna was responsible for the famous ‘For the Love of Dogs’ mural which sadly can no longer be seen.

A robot from Sinna One in Brighton

SNUB

Known for his giant robots, Snub is one of the most identifiable and prolific street artists on the Brighton scene. His robot character is inspired by Mongrol from the ABC Warriors cartoon strip which appeared in 2000AD. You can read our interview with him from 2015 here.

Work from SNUB on the side of a building in Brighton. It features Mongrol, his iconic character and a Wolf

VODKER

One of the most noticeable graffiti writers on the Brighton scene today. Vodker is known for his flowing style and will often be one of the first to break in new walls in the city. There’s a pretty good interview with him here if you wanted to know more about his work.

Graffiti piece from Vodker in Brighton

Link to the original article here.