The love for the bicycle is infecting more and more people, but also some artists who have chosen to transform their passion for two wheels into works of art.

Mart and Hopnn are two street artists who have created numerous murals inspired by cycling. The street art that tells the world of the bike is enjoying great success and there are numerous works that depict subjects on their favorite bike, while they dedicate themselves to real and imaginary journeys to discover the world.

Who is Mart, the bicycle street artist

His love for art began in 1990, when he was just 12 years old: over time Mart has developed his own artistic line, focusing on the choice of vibrant and bright colors and lines with a decided stroke. The subjects of his works are united by a particular aspect: exploring playful themes, depicting characters on bicycles and strange figures on the border between the real, animal and dreamlike world. His drawings can indeed seem simple and almost childish, but taking a little more time you can notice all his great skill in handling spray paint cans. Each work by the street artist Mart appears as a riot of colors that develop following his inspiration, with a touch of improvisation that gives a great movement.

The fundamental ingredient of his work however is not only artistic talent, but the strong connection with the community in which he lives, which binds him deeply to the neighborhood where he was born. His walls are in fact visible throughout the Palermo area of Buenos Aires, the largest barrio of the beautiful Argentine capital.

Bicycle street art with Hopnn

Born in 1981 in Chiaravalle, his stage name is actually his real name, only it is written in Cyrillic: юрий, but it is read Yuri. Hopnn is to all intents and purposes a painter (he trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome) and the interventions he performs on the street are works that aim to always convey a message beyond the technique used. Hopnn's bicycle street art is a great praise of the use of the bike, so much so that for years he has used it both as the main subject and as the secondary subject of his works. The choice to make these murals wants to spur people to use the bicycle and favor the circulation of ideas, focusing on the exchange of knowledge. Parallel to this great love for the bike, Hopnn has developed a new theme: the demolition of the car. Disintegrating cars, torn apart by the jaws of his characters: here are the subjects of some of his murals made around Italy.

But Hopnn doesn't stop at the bicycle; in 2022 he also published a book called Graffiti for Lunch, published by Three Faces. Here Yuri Romagnoli enjoys mixing art and cooking by taking the reader on a journey through the typical recipes of various areas of Italy, protagonists of some of his works. If after reading it you get an uncontrollable desire to discover street art and culinary delights, do it by bicycle!

Street art as an expressive language

Mart and Hopnn are just two of the artists who have decided to use street art as an expressive language to send messages: in both cases the bicycle is perceived as a very positive tool, able to adapt to any reality, pushing people to choose the environment with small daily gestures. Bicycle street art has proven to be a perfect mix between art and love for the planet.

Have these murals won you over? Choose your favorite street artist and start on a bike to discover his works: go there by biking!