Our Approach

Working with a selection of the world's most celebrated street artists, The House of Graffiti designs and executes bespoke mural commissions in both domestic and commercial environments. Whether a commission involves a single feature wall, an immersive design scheme incorporating every available surface, an inside wall, an outside wall, the skills of a single artist or a collaborative kaleidoscope of styles, each project is a site specific adventure. Our approach is defined by the expert application of two fundamental skills. The first is an instinctive hunger to maximise every opportunity that a commission presents - we achieve this by employing our natural eye for design, our experience in knowing what works and what doesn't, and our ability to get the very best out of everyone involved in a project. The second is a highly professional attitude - clear, straight-forward communication and a keen eye for detail ensure that every project is executed on time, on budget and to an exceptional standard.

Our Evolution

Chris Pensa began his career in the art world as an auctioneer and British Art expert at Sotheby's. During this time, Sotheby's sold their first Banksy - an event that marked both graffiti's transition from street to gallery and also the moment Chris's personal interest in street art was born. Chris left Sotheby's in 2009 to launch Love Art London, an exclusive behind-the-scenes arts club for young collectors & corporate clients. Among the hundreds of artist studio visits, private tours and pop-up events Love Art London has created, its graffiti walking tours are still the most popular - often involving live interviews with the artists themselves, these tours have led to numerous mural commissions for private collectors, graffiti connoisseurs and commercial clients alike. And so The House of Graffiti was born.

Origins of Graffiti

Ever since Neanderthal Man first started drawing on the wall of his cave, artists have been using their immediate physical surroundings as a blank canvas upon which to communicate images and ideas. The Egyptians were pretty big on wall painting too, not to mention the fresco artists of the Italian Renaissance. And street artists today belong to this same rich tradition by creating beautiful, vibrant and distinctive work in urban and architectural environments. The history of modern graffiti is partly rooted in political protest, one of the reasons street artists are often seen as subversive renegades operating under the radar. In the past if an individual was caught writing graffiti they would have found themselves in very hot water, not necessarily for the act of vandalism but because of the political views expressed. And whilst attitudes towards street art are changing, artists are still getting chased by the police - the US artist Shepard Fairey is currently facing felony charges on two counts of malicious destruction of property for nine illegal works created around the city of Detroit whilst in town working on a large scale street commission he'd been invited to install. And much to the dismay of those agencies that aim to eradicate street art, it's never been more popular, or indeed valuable - Banksys are now auctioned at Sotheby’s and Christie’s alongside Monets and Picassos. David Cameron even presented Barack Obama with a work by graffiti supremo Ben Eine as a gift on his first official visit to Washington in 2010.