Beyond the Street by Gestalten

Gestalten has handled the unenviable task of assembling Beyond the Street: The 100 Leading Figures in Urban Art, quite well. Paring the entire field of urban art down to just 100 names, 100 figures, 100 entries, is not something easily done, but editors Patrick Nguyen and Stuart Mackenzie have done very well, covering figures as diverse as graffiti artist Retna to Sotheby’s contemporary art director Cheyenne Westphal. Interviews are interspersed with photographs in an easy, free way. The layout is reminiscent of old issues of National Geographic in a good way.

A useful resource, Beyond the Street would serve well as a great primer to urban art for beginners, or as a reference for fans and aficionados, and is available from Gestalten now.