Street art is often viewed as an act of rebellion. For artists who feel constricted by the confines of an art gallery, urban spaces offer them canvases as limitless as their creativity. This mentality is being challenged at the Long Beach Museum of Art in Long Beach, California, where a handful of street artists are taking their projects indoors. 

“Vitality and Verve: Transforming the Urban Landscape” is an exhibition that opened last June, showcasing work from street artists making the transition to a studio setting, as well as traditional artists experimenting with urban spaces. Nineteen emerging artists were offered the blank walls of the museum to use however they wanted, free from direction or censorship. The result is a collection of stunning pieces that play with medium, style, and space in their own unique ways. 

“Vitality and Verve" is scheduled to run until September 27; after that the walls will be painted over in preparation for the next exhibit. If you can’t swing a trip to California before then, check out some of the pieces below and keep an eye out for more work from these artists on the streets and beyond. 


Artist // Greg 'Craola' Simkins


Artist // Aaron Horkey


Artist // Audrey Kawasaki


Artist // James Bullough


Artist // Brendan Monroe

Artist // NoseGo

Artist // Cryptik

Artist // Andrew Schoultz

Artist // Alex Yanes

Artist // Esao Andrews

Artist // Jeff Soto

[h/t: Collectively Conscious]