lowercase focus: Latin American street art
Welcome to lowercase focus, a bi-monthly program which seeks to highlight artists and exhibitions across the globe.
In my last focus article I looked at a number of emerging artists working predominantly or exclusively with non-fungible tokens – perhaps the most discussed topic in the arts right now. In this article, I’ll be talking a focus on something more tangible: street-art. More specifically, street art from Latin America.
El Marain
Mariano Antedomenico, better known as El Marain, is a Spanish artist & muralist based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Aesthetically, his works could be described as emotive depictions of people in a larger-than-life format. Creating murals which depict children, religious people, animals and sometimes police set on fire, common themes such as resistance and human rights are at the centre of El Marian’s practice. Often however, he finds a way to personalise those engaging in troubling acts, placing the identity of people, rather than their actions, at the forefront of his works.
UnKolorDistino
UnKolorDistino is a Chilean street-art duo made up of Sammy Espinosa (Jesky) and Cynthia Aguilera (Cines). They have been active under the moniker since the late 90s, cementing themselves as a staple of the Chilean scene and carving out a unique aesthetic of highly stylised and hugely colourful muralism. UnKolorDistino is an admirable duo not for their unique aesthetic and impressive career, but also because they engage with indigenous representation through the people they portray and the garb their subjects wear.
BLN Bike
Belen Jaramillo aka BLN Bike is an Ecuadoriana street-artist who includes motifs such as empowered women, elusions to nature, poetry and of course bikes in her artworks. Working in the Andean capital where heavy fines and prison sentences are a possibility for those caught painting unsolicited murals, BLN Bike’s works become even more impressive. In the city of Quito where many murals are quickly made throw-ups and tags, BLN Bike paints delicate, personal and moving imagery which would take more time, and put her at much more risk, than her contemporaries.
Claudio Ethos
Sao Paolo born artist Claudio Ethos is best known for his murals which espouse surrealism and traditional fine-line drawing techniques. Using a minimal colour palette of white, grey and black, with thick bordering lines and shading, Ethos creates characters which tackle ideas of emotion and spirituality. Typically, his murals focus on animals, however more recently he has painted humans to explore the struggles of inhumane systems and brutal living conditions, presumably in Brazil.
Os Gemeos
Another Brazilian artist and undoubtedly the most famous on this list, no exploration of South American graffiti would be complete without a mention of Os Gemeos. The Brazilian duo of identical twins began painting in the late 80s and have shown no sign of decline over their long and successful career. They are best known for their surreal and huge scale drawings of iconic monikers – yellow skinned characters which seem part dream-like and part Brazilian lore.
Emerson Radisich is a curator, writer and educator currently based in Melbourne, Australia.