Once upon a time, illegal graffiti and street art were modest in scale, hastily created in hours or even minutes and destroyed just as quickly by authorities, vandals, or the weather. Now, however, architects, urban planners, and development companies have begun to support the creation of large murals, allowing street artists and graffiti artists to make carefully planned, more permanent works, sometimes covering entire buildings, and adding a whole new visual dimension to the world’s cities.

For this spectacular volume, Claudia Walde, whose own recent 1,800-square-foot, brilliantly colored mural on the Alte Messe, Leipzig, was created in just one grueling week of work, has selected more than 200 of the best XXL mural works from around the world and profiled thirty artists who pioneered this trend. Working in dangerous conditions, hundreds of yards above the ground, yet always keenly aware of the viewer’s perspective from street level, these new street muralists are as fearless and technically skilled as they are brilliant and creative.

With exclusive commentary from the practitioners as well as detailed information about their planning, methods, challenges, and inspirations, Mural XXL also includes a map identifying exciting murals around the world.