New York City has basically forever been crushin' the art world. From graffiti to "high art," we've got it all here. 

Part of what makes our scene interesting is that we're a world class city, meaning if you can do it here you can do it almost anywhere else.

Because of that, we're seeing international art phenomena happen all around us all the time, and we're not even necessarily aware of it. Dope?

Now we're running down a list of some of our favorite NYC based artists. Some of them are hard to miss. If you have two eyes and walk around the city, you will definitely see their work plastered all over the place.

Others are not so well known, beginning to stake their claims on the NYC art world and beyond. So get ready for some sick visuals; let's check it out.

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1. Adam Cost

Adam Cost is no stranger to difficulty and dopeness. The man best known for putting his name in your face everywhere you go in NYC was in criminal court earlier this year to face vandalism charges, and he wasn't even bummed out about it.

After being caught red handed-- holding a paint brush covered in adhesive-- what can you really do?

He seemed to be into it, with a curiously proud attitude along the lines of, "Yeah, you know me, I'm the man."

But hey, much respect to the guy whose reputation never died after over a decade of inactivity. Check out the latest on his legal battles here.

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2. B.N.E.

B.N.E. is literally an international man of mystery, at least we're pretty sure he's a man. The infamous graffiti writer turned sticker blanket bomb machine has been active for some years now, and all available information suggests he is from NYC.

You've probably seen stickers bearing his name placed all over the city, and many others around the world. We're sure you've probably noticed his sticker campaign because he's gone above and beyond what others, like the notable forerunner Adam Cost, have done. 

B.N.E. is everywhere, and that's the idea. He sees it as a leveling of the playing field. You already see Disney, McDonald's, and Starbucks everywhere, why not the logo of a sweet artist? Seems legit.

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3. Brandon Sines

Meet Frank. Frank is the brain child of artist Brandon Sines, who has been conquering the sticker game here in NYC for a little while, adhering Franks to just about everything in sight. Frank is a genius concept. 

By putting Frank in any number of costumes or scenarios that shout out pop culture, like Biggie Smalls or John Lennon, Sines is able to comment on the people and culture of today. Not only that, Frank can be seen au-natural (furry?) saying all kinds of funny/thought provoking stuff.

Now Sines is way more than a creative sticker guy, he's an artist of many many forms: from animation to just about everything else. We recently caught up with him at a gallery in SoHo. 

After a few minutes of chatting, we got the impression Sines isn't your average "I'm afraid of/obsessed with public attention" type of creative. He genuinely seemed to be interested in our questions as a human would be, not some slab of imagination on a pedestal hocking rainbow yetis. 

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4. Chris Mendoza 

Chris Mendoza is pretty cool. He's an active member of Con Artist Collective on Manhattan's Lower East Side, as well as other communities full of talent like the infamous Barnstormers.

His work usually rocks an abstract vibe, which makes it kind of mean nothing and everything at once. In fact, it's not so much about the "meaning" as how the movement within each piece makes the viewer feel.

Check out some of his more light an airy works here, they're for sale and we don't mean for a billion dollars.

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5. Fumeroism

Fumeroism is another artist that's been adhering his heart and soul to every possible surface around the city for some time. 

Over the last year or so, though, it appears he's been attracting more mural work than he has been bombing the LES and BK with posters, however dope they may be.

His unique approach is, to say the least, colorful. It's a wonderful menage of styles that ranges from a magical sort of cartoon to a sort of extremely realistic representation of the subject, with varying examples laying somewhere in between. 

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6. Futura

Futura has been a fixture on the NYC art world for decades. The man is, well basically the man. There are maybe only a few living individuals with such ubiquity regarding their presence in the NYC scene. 

Part of his appeal is the fact that he's grown with the tastes and tendencies of the City, and his fans. Some of his latest work is very digitally oriented, which is something different, at least regarding this list.

As his name suggests, he's got his eye on the future. Thus far, he's been darn good at spotting themes or images that encapsulate some emotion regarding where we are as city dwellers; as people alive in the digital age; as members of a global economy.

He also has some pretty sweet views on why Chuck Taylor's are the most appropriate throwback footwear. 

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7. Meres One

Meres One is probably best known as the main man behind the graffiti mecca known as 5Pointz, in Long Island City. He's also an internationally recognized painter. For years the 5Ptz property was a place where street writers could demonstrate their skills and sensibilities.

Photographers would flock from miles away to capture the vivid scene surrounding the structure, until it was demolished and construction began on a couple of high rises, which will still be called 5Pointz...

Meres One is keeping the 5 Pointz brand/ethos/crew alive, though, most notably with the memorial mural for hip hop legend Sean Price mural back in August.

While it's true that there are a litany of street artists who eat, breathe, and drink NYC, Meres One may get the most respect for always keeping the art true to the fan base, authentic to the viewer. It's got to be a hard line to walk, especially for years on end. For that, we give it up to the immortal Meres One.

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8. Pablo Power

Pablo Power is, in two words, kinda trippy. Some of his latest concepts work around block art, where images are put on each surface of cubes, and one can build his or her own image with each face of the block, kind of like a Rubix cube of visual art. 

This is more creative than you might think at first. Sure, it may remind you of the scrambled tile games in the doctors' office when you were a kid, but let's think about this for a second. 

If you're free to rearrange the quadrants of a piece, to add or remove them as you see fit, then you're dealing with interactive art that's only limited to the variety on the blocks themselves, and that's pretty cool.

This idea can be applied to small blocks on a tabletop, or on a larger scale put on a wall. Effects like the reflection, pictured above, are just one option. 

Check out more here.

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9. RhizomeNYC

RhizomeNYC is not one individual. Rather, the idea is to grow their practices to as many people as possible, like the rhizomes they're named after.

The crew is made up mainly of three guys of various talents including design, stage production, architecture and sculpture.

The end results are (usually pretty) giant sculptures featuring custom projection mapping curated by the Rhizome crew, and the possibilities are as endless as the trio's imaginations.

We've seen RhizomeNYC installations at Webster Hall (above) for a Jack Daniels party as well at BangOn! Elements Festival, where they projected visuals not only across the enormous head they suspended over the center of the stage, but also one whole side of the grain elevator.

Their sculpture is cool, but the real amazement comes when video is projected upon them, warped, twisted and VJ'ed in any number of psychedelic ways. 100% worth checking out, and keep an eye out for their installations at events around the City and country. 

Check out 7 Incredibly Wonderful Pieces of Street Art You'll Only Find in NYC. 

[Feature Image Courtesy of Stencils/tumblr]