She exhibits in galleries - the Museum of Modern Art has acquired six of her pieces, but does not do commercial work. Trained in classical painting, she turned to street art after becoming disillusioned with art school. Street art is mainly a male preserve, but this young New York woman has carved out a credible reputation with the huge, very elaborate paper cut-outs and block prints of people which she pastes up all over the streets of New York. Though their work often has a political edge, they also draw on folk tales, literature and their own family for inspiration. The strange, stick-limbed figures in their colourful murals are both endearing and disturbing, like cartoons drawn by ghosts.
Brazil has one of the most vibrant street art cultures anywhere - and some of the most talented and original practitioners. They are still relatively unknown in Europe, but these twin brothers from Sao Paulo are massive in their home country. One, commenting on his street art international protest in Bethlehem last Christmas, claimed that "like his art, Banksy's 'political' understanding is also two-dimensional". Beloved by celebrities, he is not without his critics.
When his works began fetching record prices at auction in 2007, his website carried an image of an auction house scene showing people bidding on a picture emblazoned with the legend, "I Can't Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Sh*t". His work now sells for vast sums, but he remains a critic of the contemporary art world.
He emerged from the Bristol underground music and art scene of the early 1990s and cites both the anarchist graffiti of 1970s punk band Crass and Blek le Rat as influences. His trademark satirical combinations of stencils and written text have at various times featured rats, chimps and human figures. The Bristol-born artist has, amazingly, managed to retain his anonymity despite his fame.
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