City guide · Berlin

Street art in Berlin: from the Wall to the museum

No city has a wall like Berlin's. How the painted Wall became Europe's street art capital – with Mode 2, Kerim Seiler and the places to see it today.

The Wall, the East Side Gallery and Kreuzberg

In the 1980s the western side of the Berlin Wall became the longest canvas in the world. French artists Thierry Noir^{EN Wikipedia} and Christophe Bouchet^{EN Wikipedia} painted kilometres of it with bright, flat figures – on a structure that officially stood on East German territory. After the Wall fell, 118 artists from 21 countries painted the East Side Gallery^{EN Wikipedia} in 1990, about 1.3 km of the Wall along the Spree in Friedrichshain; it is still the longest open-air gallery in the world.

Cheap rents and empty buildings in the 1990s turned Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Mitte into a playground for graffiti and paste-ups. The two giant murals by the Italian artist Blu^{EN Wikipedia}, born in Senigallia and based in Bologna, on the Cuvrybrache in Kreuzberg became landmarks – until they were painted black in 2014 in protest against the gentrification of the area. Today the RAW-Gelände, Mauerpark, the former listening station on the Teufelsberg and the courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg in Mitte are among the best places to see it.

Berlin has also brought street art indoors: in 2017 Urban Nation^{EN Wikipedia} in Schöneberg opened as a museum for urban contemporary art, and galleries such as Urban Spree^{DE Wikipedia} in Friedrichshain show artists like Mode 2^{FR Wikipedia}, a pioneer of European graffiti. The Swiss artist Kerim Seiler^{EN Wikipedia}, who lives in Zurich and Berlin, stands for the other direction: art that takes over public space through neon, sculpture and architecture.

Artists

Mode 2

Born 1967 in Mauritius · London since 1976 · first generation of European graffiti

Mode 2 came to London from Mauritius as a child and began painting in 1984 in the hip-hop scene around Covent Garden. His figures – drawn with a precision rare in graffiti – made him one of the key artists of the first European wave: one of his pieces was chosen for the cover of the book Spraycan Art (1987), which spread graffiti far beyond New York.

In the mid-1980s he lived in Paris and painted with the local crews; since then he has worked across London, Paris and Berlin, where his canvases and drawings are shown at Urban Spree in Friedrichshain. His subjects range from boxers and dancers to hip-hop culture and the body in motion.

On the market: Urban Spree in Berlin lists original works by Mode 2 at around €2,700 to €4,500.

Walls, trains & public works: Walls in London, Paris and Berlin since the mid-1980s. (source)

Fact sheet

Born	1967, Mauritius
Lives in	London (since 1976)
Active since	1984
Works in	✓ Drawings ✓ Canvases ✓ Murals – Sculptures – Toys – Film – Furniture ✓ Books – Graphics
Training	–
Galleries	Urban Spree
Previously with	–
Collaborations	Cover of «Spraycan Art» (1987); crews in London and Paris
Museums & institutions	–
Collection acquisitions	–
Awards & residencies	–
Press, interviews & films	Spraycan Art (book, 1987) · UP Magazine: 40 years of Mode 2 · Interview «Beyond the Street» (2010)
Wikipedia	FR Wikipedia
Future value – StreetArtValue estimate	–
Website	–
Instagram	–

✓ documented · – no information in the sources

Kerim Seiler

Born 1974 in Bern · lives in Zurich and Berlin · art in public space, neon, architecture

Kerim Seiler, born in Bern in 1974, works between Zurich and Berlin. He studied in Geneva and at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg under Bernhard Johannes Blume, and in 2011 completed a master's in architecture at ETH Zurich. His work moves between painting, sculpture, neon and architecture – and very often out into public space.

Among his best-known works are a 250-metre neon installation at Zurich main station, the pavilion Gulliver in Pfungen (2009), Relay in Johannesburg (2010), the Iris façade in Schlieren (2014), Space Knot at the Swiss National Museum (2016) and sculptures for the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel (2016). He is also known for inflatable, molecule-like sculptures. His work has been shown at Kunsthalle Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, the Schirn in Frankfurt and Cabaret Voltaire.

On the market: Represented by Grieder Contemporary in Zurich; paintings and works on paper also appear on the secondary market (see Artnet).

Walls, trains & public works: Large works in public space: neon at Zurich main station, Gulliver (Pfungen), Relay (Johannesburg), Iris façade (Schlieren), Space Knot (Swiss National Museum), Gotthard Base Tunnel. (source)

Fact sheet

Born	1974, Bern (Switzerland)
Lives in	Zurich and Berlin
Active since	–
Works in	✓ Drawings ✓ Canvases – Murals ✓ Sculptures – Toys – Film – Furniture – Books – Graphics ✓ Objects ✓ Neon & light ✓ Architecture
Training	ESAV Geneva; HfbK Hamburg (Bernhard Johannes Blume); MAS Architecture, ETH Zurich (2011)
Galleries	Grieder Contemporary · Artnet
Previously with	–
Collaborations	–
Museums & institutions	Kunsthalle Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Cabaret Voltaire, Landesmuseum Zürich (Space Knot, 2016)
Collection acquisitions	–
Awards & residencies	–
Press, interviews & films	–
Wikipedia	EN Wikipedia
Future value – StreetArtValue estimate	–
Website	–
Instagram	–

✓ documented · – no information in the sources

What is Berlin street art worth?

A piece of the Wall itself is a souvenir, not an artwork, unless it carries a documented painting by a known artist. Canvases and works on paper by established artists are sold through galleries, often in the low thousands of euros, while large public commissions are not for sale at all. What counts is the artist, originality, provenance and condition. For an informal value of your piece, use our free estimate from a photo.

Sources: Wikipedia articles on the artists, the East Side Gallery and Blu's Cuvrybrache murals, gallery websites (Urban Spree, Grieder Contemporary), Artnet, Urban Nation (as of October 2026). Selection by StreetArtValue; the artists are not affiliated with us.

Frequently asked questions

What is the East Side Gallery?

About 1.3 km of the Berlin Wall along the Spree in Friedrichshain, painted in 1990 by 118 artists from 21 countries – the longest open-air gallery in the world.

Where can I see street art in Berlin?

At the East Side Gallery, in Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, at the RAW-Gelände, Mauerpark, Teufelsberg and Haus Schwarzenberg, and indoors at Urban Nation in Schöneberg.

Is a piece of the Berlin Wall valuable?

Mostly as a souvenir. It only becomes an artwork with a documented painting by a known artist and a clear provenance.

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