Any trip to Iceland requires a view of the Northern Lights, visit to the Blue Lagoon, and look at some of the incredible scenery. But walk around Reykjavik and you might find yourself taking in a different kind of scenery: street art.
“There seems to be no place like Iceland culturally and physically,” street artist collective Dev N Gosha says. “The music and the culture are very tied together with the landscape, and I think it creates things that you don't see or hear anywhere else in the world.” Same goes for the art: With the Reykjavik government dedicating walls for street art and small business owners commissioning murals left and right, this small city has become an international hot- spot for street art. Drive along the water and you’ll run across three striking black-and-white murals from Australian artist Guido van Helten. Along the main stretch, you’ll find a collaboration of works from the UK’sThe London Police and American Artist Above.
“Reykjavik is an amazing city to work in because there is such a wide understanding for the importance of street art and art in public space both politically and culturally,” artist Theresa Himmer, creator of The Mountain Series, wrote to OC. “In my experience, there is no sharp distinction between underground and ‘overground’ which is quite unique.”
Of course, there are distinctive Icelandic artists representing their country — Sara Riel, Karl Kristján Davídsson, and Margeir Dire, to name a few. And plenty have been cultivating the scene since the beginning. “There have been few very good places to paint at through the years,” Dire says. “There was a place called Hjartagarðurinn, that was my favorite spot. It was a small garden square in the middle of Laugavegur. People could go there and sit in the grass and look at the painted walls all around them. But then some idiots wanted to build a hotel on that square so now it’s gone.”
But when you walk down the street, you discover it’s an art exhibit on its own. “At the moment there are no legal spots and no hall of fame,” Dire says. But there are still a few “semi-legal places” to paint, and Icelanders are usually open to artwork as long as you ask permission. “Usually I just choose walls by the visibility, environment, and format of the wall,” Dire continues. “If the wall is interesting, that wall screams at me ‘paint me, goddamn it!’”![]()
One of Guido van Helten’s pieces along the northwest corner of Reykjavik. Photos by Jessica Chou ![]()
This Guido work was commissioned by the owner of the building. She had asked him to paint a picture of her grandfather who had built the house. ![]()
The third of four Guido works along the same area. ![]()
Margeir Dire’s work along a side street in Reykjavik. ![]()
An untagged work alongside an office building. ![]()
“There seems to be no place like Iceland culturally and physically,” street artist collective Dev N Gosha says. “The music and the culture are very tied together with the landscape, and I think it creates things that you don't see or hear anywhere else in the world.” Same goes for the art: With the Reykjavik government dedicating walls for street art and small business owners commissioning murals left and right, this small city has become an international hot- spot for street art. Drive along the water and you’ll run across three striking black-and-white murals from Australian artist Guido van Helten. Along the main stretch, you’ll find a collaboration of works from the UK’sThe London Police and American Artist Above.
“Reykjavik is an amazing city to work in because there is such a wide understanding for the importance of street art and art in public space both politically and culturally,” artist Theresa Himmer, creator of The Mountain Series, wrote to OC. “In my experience, there is no sharp distinction between underground and ‘overground’ which is quite unique.”
Of course, there are distinctive Icelandic artists representing their country — Sara Riel, Karl Kristján Davídsson, and Margeir Dire, to name a few. And plenty have been cultivating the scene since the beginning. “There have been few very good places to paint at through the years,” Dire says. “There was a place called Hjartagarðurinn, that was my favorite spot. It was a small garden square in the middle of Laugavegur. People could go there and sit in the grass and look at the painted walls all around them. But then some idiots wanted to build a hotel on that square so now it’s gone.”
But when you walk down the street, you discover it’s an art exhibit on its own. “At the moment there are no legal spots and no hall of fame,” Dire says. But there are still a few “semi-legal places” to paint, and Icelanders are usually open to artwork as long as you ask permission. “Usually I just choose walls by the visibility, environment, and format of the wall,” Dire continues. “If the wall is interesting, that wall screams at me ‘paint me, goddamn it!’”
One of Guido van Helten’s pieces along the northwest corner of Reykjavik. Photos by Jessica Chou 
This Guido work was commissioned by the owner of the building. She had asked him to paint a picture of her grandfather who had built the house. 
The third of four Guido works along the same area. 
Margeir Dire’s work along a side street in Reykjavik. 
An untagged work alongside an office building.