MURO LX_2016 Urban Art Festival

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Colectivo Rua is a collective of multidisciplinary artists from Porto, whose creative process is developed through painting (graffiti), graphic design, illustration, photography, sculpture, music, etc. Created in 2006, it currently consists of seven elements: Alma, Unmade, Draw, Fedor, Mash, Oker and Third. Their has developed into two sections. On the one hand, the development of artistic projects (exhibitions, installations) solo or collectively. In parallel, they work with some brands and artistic events producers: Occasional design, development of artistic concepts, live performances at events and festivals. // http://www.colectivorua.com  

COLECTIVO RUA

Using the contrast between classic design and geometry, they show the passers-by a hand with the palm facing them.

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Alexandre Alonso is a self-taught painter with an architecture background, born in Lisbon, where he lives and works. Alonso had is debut on the Bairro streets, using the walls has canvas and painting with oil paints. // www.byalexandrealonso.com

ALEXANDRE ALONSO

It is his first mural in the street, painted with oil. The artist is interested in the sculptural dimension that the paint can give to the figure, creating shadows and reliefs.

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // The invitation was addressed to DRAW and CONTRA, members of Colectivo Rua, made up of seven multidisciplinary artists. Frederico Soares Campos aka DRAW creates portraits, treated as a sketch on the wall, in which the pencil is replaced by spray can. Rodrigo 'Alma' aka CONTRA develops his work in areas such as graffiti, illustration, installation and typography, in a predominantly analogous process. // www.fredericodraw.com

DRAW | CONTRA - “Tudo isto é Fado”

The technical drawing, almost as if it was a classic sketch, combined with some colorful and abstract shapes in the background.

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Jhon Douglas was born in Vilhena, Brazil. He traveled through South American countries and is currently living in Lisbon. Douglas is divided between his atelier in Baixa and the practice of skateboarding. Works with paints, on screens, papers and walls, also developing video works. // www.cargocollective.com/jhondouglas

JHON DOUGLAS

The masks are an analogy to the "masks" we put on daily, to face our problems or everyday situations that we try to avoid.

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Rui Alexandre Ferreira aka RAF was born in Lisbon. From an very early age, he showed a natural tendency for the design, but only at 16 years old showed signs of an artistic potential and began to paint. His bedroom wall served as a canvas for a few years. // www.muworkspace.com/portfolio_page/raf-art                                                           

RAF

The artist recreates a giant skateboard, in order to show us his artistic roots, that are also closely linked to the underground skate culture and street culture.

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Octavio Pinho aka Slap (SkTr Crew), born in Espinho, began painting on the streets at age 12. Urban plastic artist, self-taught, irreverent and conscious of the artistic movement that he practices, he is one of the oldest national artists in this area with a vast curriculum in Lisbon. // www.urban-art.com 

SLAP

Biblical scene, sending the message that "the rollers, the brushes and the easels are our arms" and, eventually, "our cross is to live from the Art".

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Vanessa Teodoro aka The Super Van, is a plastic artist and has been asserting herself in the portuguese street art scene. Multifaceted and curious, she studied advertising and graphic design, areas where she seeks the knowledge she considers essential for her visual identity. Her trait is more figurative and balances between provocation, contrasts and humor. // www.thesupervan.com

THE SUPER VAN

A woman paints with a spray can. The scream represents the struggle and strength of female power and the eye represents the importance of women being recognized for their work.

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Vanessa Rosa is a Brazilian artist, graduated in Art History. She began working with urban art in 2009, developing her project in which she creates interventions that mix historical or philosophical interpretations with drawings and paintings of ordinary people. // www.vanessarosart.com

VANESSA ROSA

Through the Sankofa - the bird that looks backwards - which means "Learning from the past to live the future", the artist represents old Portuguese tiles and their influence in the brazilian culture.

Curatorship: Ana Vilar Bravo // Violant began with phrases and stencils in a "thoughted vandalism." With the use of free hand, he searches for abandoned spaces to paint. The replacement of the spray paint by plastic paint and the use of extensible rods allow the expansion of the working scale. // www.flickr.com/violant3  

VIOLANT – “FAKE PROMISSES”

Woman made of wax, the flame lit, in an allusion to the ephemerality of life and of the Urban Art itself, which, like the candle, changes over time and eventually disappears.

Curatorship: Lara Seixo Rodrigues // Diogo Machado, aka Add Fuel works as a visual artist and illustrator. Having initially created an unique visual universe populated by entertaining creatures inspired by science fiction, the Portuguese artist has recently reoriented his attention to traditional ceramics (Portuguese tile particular). // www.addfuel.com                                       

ADD FUEL – “COMVIDA”

Through the interpretation of the traditional tiles and the Portuguese architectural tradition, the artist presents an invitation figure, which are usually found at noble house's entrance.

Curatorship: Lara Seixo Rodrigues // Born in Lisbon, he considers himself to be a part of an extremely consumerist, materialistic and greedy generation. With the overproduction, the amount of "junk" and unproductive objects increases proportionally to the exaggerated consumerism of these same things. He speaks of "garbage" in quotation marks because it is a very abstract concept - "The garbage of one man is the treasure of another." // www.bordalosegundo.com               

BORDALO II

Part of the Big Trash Animals Series, it reminds us the dangers of exessive buying, the waste associated with it and its main victims - animals.

Curatorship: Lara Seixo Rodrigues // Gonzalo Borondo (1989) grew up in Segovia. At the age of 18, took part in his first art festival in Istanbul. In 2003 he moved to Madrid where he strengthened his relationship with graffiti. Had a "master" in José Garcia Herranz, with whom he experimented with different techniques and studied in detail the old masters of painting. He attended the Academies of Fine Arts in Madrid and Rome. // www.gonzaloborondo.com/

BORONDO

There are two complementary works, from the same scene,located in two diferent places inside the Bairro.

Curatorship: Lara Seixo Rodrigues // Mário Belém was born in Lisbon and says he can no longer remember when he began to draw. He took that passion to Architecture school, but soon realized that it was not his vocation, choosing to follow an illustration career. After many collaborations, he found the canvas to explore his artwork on a mural. // www.mariobelem.com

MÁRIO BELÉM – “SONHA MAIS ALTO”

The artist recreates an old advertising poster and conveys a positive message to the neighborhood.

Curatorship: Lara Seixo Rodrigues // He was born in Lisbon in 1990, where he began his artistic career and where he graduates from the Fine Arts Faculty from the University of Lisbon in 2012. His work is constantly associated with the human nature whether by affirmation or absence/ detriment of it. Influenced by the Pointillism movement, the dot is the exclusive element in its work, in which it is affirmed to be part of a larger organism, but most importantly because, in its independence, has its own identity. //  www.instagram.com/theemptybelly

THE EMPTY BELLY

The work represents the fragility of the human being - the embryo that is not yet complete, as the human being is never complete.

Curatorship: Miguel Negretti // Chure, Mosaik and Helio aka Bray (the Thunders Crew) create collective works highlighting their three distinct styles. Bray is an artist who has gone through various phases and graffiti styles, mixing various techniques. He worked in the fashion creation business, with his own brand and object personalization. Chure, after "absorbing" numerous graffiti magazines, fell in love with lettering and developed a style of his own, based on wild and clean styles and Comics universe representations. Mosaik belongs to the second generation of national writers. His goal is to elevate street art to new standards by constantly seeking and developing  his design. //

CHURE/MOSAIK/BRAY – “A DISPUTA PELO OSSO”

The artists from Thunders Crew feature intricate calligraphic compositions, creating an illusion of depth, allied to famous cartoon characters.

Curatorship: Miguel Negretti // The Low Bros is an artist duo - Christoph and Florin Schmidt - previously active as Qbrk and Nerd, born in Hamburg, Germany. They create stylized animals with human characteristics, references to the hip hop universe, skateboarding and other elements that shaped their youth. They are nurtured by the complex interaction between two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality: Between the synergy of geometry flowing organic shapes, cubic effects, expressive color gradations and multifaceted patterns and animal drawings. Influenced by the design, illustration and aesthetics from the 80's and the 90's video games and psychedelic forms, they pay close attention to the sharp light and shadow contrasts. Apparently, everything merges and merges, just like in life, and on the streets, thanks to many details, which become apparent after a deeper look. // www.lowbros.de

LOW BROS

Animal figures stylized through geometric shapes, with human behavior and characteristics.

Curatorship: Miguel Negretti // www.lowbros.de

LOW BROS
Animal figures stylized through geometric shapes, with human behavior and characteristics.

Curatorship: Miguel Negretti // www.lowbros.de

LOW BROS

Animal figures stylized through geometric shapes, with human behavior and characteristics.

Curatorship: Miguel Negretti // He made the first work in 1989 and spent the next few years painting trains and walls. In the 2000s he discovered new forms of painting that opened doors to another artistic universe. After all the bombing he has done in the last 20 years, he wants to contribute to enhance the public space with his art. // www.spok.es

SPOK

A humanized surrealistic creature holds a fire extinguisher that shoots metallic colored beams which surround the entire composition.

Curatorship: Pariz One // Born in Lisbon, he has always  been connected to the world of Art.The name "Edis One" appeared, first time, in 2007 as a simple tag. He identifies himself with multiple artistic branches, focusing his activity on graffiti, graphic design, website creation, industrial design, painting and photography. // www.edis1.com                               

EDIS ONE

The artist - in this case, writer - features a piece of graffiti, working the lettering design carefully, with bright colors and vibrant patterns.

Curatorship: Pariz One // As a self-taught, his first contact with graffiti happened at fifteen and soon his drawings became several  lettering studies. After fifteen years of continuous work, Mr.Dheo chooses the street as the perfect place to create. Versatile, he is mainly dedicated to photo-realistic productions that, combined with graphic components, give to his own style a constant growth and development. // www.mrdheo.com                           

MR.DHEO - "THE MODERN FAMILY"

Mr.Dheo painted Pariz One holding a childish drawing, representing a satire to the "modern family" concept.

Curatorship: Pariz One // "Contemporary Art Creators", muralists and Image makers, they've met in 2007 at the Willem de Kooning Academy. They began to work together on walls and so grew the artistic duo that both form today. In October 2012 they moved to Sober Concept Store, local formed the company 'TELMO MIEL'. They work on ideas for murals separately and confront the sketches before developing joint pieces. The result is usually very surreal, with attention to detail. // www.telmomiel.com                     

TELMO MIEL & PARIZ ONE

Telmo Miel and Pariz One presented a link between street art and graffiti. The child's face and body are detailed, realistic, contrasting with the lettering on the shirt the child wears.

Curatorship: Pedro Soares Neves // He was born in Le Mans in 1980.     Mathieu draws on anonymous and spontaneous practices and expressions in urban space and implements simple and playful actions as a way of questioning the systems of regulation and representation of the city, developing his work around site specific interventions. // www.mathieutremblin.com

MATHIEU TREMBLIN

His mural is part of the Street Art Evaluation series, representing a graph resulting from a survey on commissioned urban art, held during Festival MURO.

Curatorship: Pedro Soares Neves // Gonçalo Ribeiro had his first experience with Graffiti in 1998. Known for his dolls or characters, he stands out by the way he builds his characters and environments, through lines and shapes that make them unique. // www.goncalomar.com                     

MAR – “O FUGITIVO”

The house on the characters head represents the ideal home. He takes only his most valuable belongings - a star that guides him in his search of a better future, and wears a mask to face adversity.

Curatorship: Pedro Soares Neves // Ram's (1976) visual language approaches a contemporary action painting, with psychedelic roots and representations of fantastic realities. The vitality invested in the creative act has gained form in a plurality of supports, in which land art influences are included. // www.facebook.com/ram.miguel.7     

RAM - "RLX PORTALS"

Two complementary "Portals" connect two different places in the Bairro. These show us the Humanity's journey through the Universe "spreading like a virus", through space and time.

Curatorship: Pedro Soares Neves // www.facebook.com/ram.miguel.7

RAM - "RLX PORTALS"

Two complementary "Portals" connect two different places in the Bairro. These show us the Humanity's journey through the Universe "spreading like a virus", through space and time.

Curatorship: Pedro Soares Neves // Born in Lisbon, he takes the phrase "We are avatars of past stupidity", referring to Fernando Pessoa as an inspiration for this artistic invasion, through which he intends to express a satirical rebellion against the sociocultural present scenario. The exhibition circuit "Stupid - Because all people are!" is developed in several stages and its creator, intends to invade multiple city locations with his sculptures, whose unforeseen placement depend on his creative interpretation of space itself. // www.facebook.com/stupidrobertpanda

ROBERT PANDA

These characters seek interaction with the observer and are not to be treated as mere "sculptures".

He was one of the pioneers of national graffiti, actively developing his practice in Lisbon during the 1990s.The proposal that he executed in MURO translates a personal and artistic reading of the specific urban context of the place that he chose to intervene. Reproduces in a wall a set of functional elements that mark the use of that territory, such as a pedestrian crossing, a children's game or the connective path to a bus stop.

UBER

Beginning his work with the demarcation of a route, from the pre-existing footpath, the artist reinterprets the numbers on the slabs on the wall, with the same positions, portraying his public space reading.

Curatorship: VHILS / Pauline Foessel // AkaCorleone is a visual artist who began his career as a graffiti writer in the underworld of Lisbon. He is known for his color and typography skills, characters and purified forms combined in order to produce appealing compositions, imbued with originality and humor. // http://www.akacorleone.com 

AKACORLEONE - SUDDENLY...

The observer can create his own story, based on the plot provided by the artist (two characters who want to find each other but are unable to) and by the graphic elements represented.

Curatorship: VHILS / Pauline Foessel // André da Loba was born in Aveiro and has a vast work published and exposed.   As an illustrator, animator, graphic designer, sculptor and educator, his combination of curiosity, experience, knowledge and ignorance serves as a constant support for what he creates and is inspired. // www.andredaloba.com

ANDRÉ DA LOBA

Using his background in Illustration, the artist paints for the first time in the street, inspired by the motto "Padre Cruz, Mente de luz" (Padre Cruz, mind of light).

Curatorship: VHILS / Pauline Foessel // Felipe Pantone, was born in Argentina and grew up in Spain. Active in the fields of kinetic art, installations, graffiti and design, his visual language is characterized by the use of strong colors, geometric patterns and pop art element. Comprising conventional graffiti, typography and abstraction, his work merges bold graphic design elements with highly elaborate geometric shapes to create an ultra-modern aesthetic that complements and reacts to the raw modernity of our urban landscapes. // www.felipepantone.com

FELIPE PANTONE - "OPTICROMIA PARA LISBOA"

The artist seeks the representation of speed, the ephemerality of urban art and what surrounds us, the transience of daily life and the technology dependence - "ultra dynamism".

Curatorship: GAU // Using the streets as a place to improve his technique, Eime began to experiment with graffiti at age 16, although later on he experimented with other techniques such as stickers, posters and stencil. Being recognized for his large-scale murals and the use of fairly detailed stencils, his works portrays intriguing characters who cast enigmatic glances. // www.danieleime.com                       

DANIEL EIME

On the market's facade, we notice strikes of color - bi-dimensional planes, which contain a stencil face, divided in two parts.

Curatorship: GAU // Leonor Brilha (Torres Vedras, 1982) has a degree in Painting - Fine Arts and Communication Design and Master in Visual Arts Teaching. She's a Photography teacher at António Arroio Art School. Has developed several projects of urban art. In this work, "The Heart of the Neighborhood" the streets are the arteries of the heart which is the neighborhood. The design is born from the original Padre Cruz neighborhood plan and its toponymy, in which the streets are named after Portuguese rivers. // www.behance.net/leonorbrilha

LEONOR BRILHA - "O CORAÇÃO DO BAIRRO"

Reinterpreting theBairro urban structure, through the anatomy of a human heart, the artist represents both the urban structure and the human structure - the inhabitants.

Curatorship: GAU // Graffiti pioneer in Portugal, the visual universe of the self-taught artist has been consolidated in a multiplicity of media and records since he began to interact with urban space in 1989. In his work for the festival, he wanted to give something to the inhabitants - an image with which they could identify themselves, in an iconic common language with an image of a colorful smiling child, bringing hope and strength to the people who envisioned it. // www.nomen1.com                   

NOMEN

He does not have a basic concept, just an intention - to bring color and joy to a troubled neighborhood, through the use of vibrant colors and the child's smile.

Curatorship: GAU // Oze Arv (1980) is a multi-faceted Portuguese artist, who uses spray painting, stenciling, illustration and photography in his work. Since 1998 he has participated in several exhibitions, political and humanitarian projects. // www.ozearv.com

OZEARV - "The Royal House says: Hoo Dear we have to move"

Through the deer's head, the artist intends to recreate the "hunting wall", from typical Manor houses, subverting the context and condition of the neighborhood itself.

Curatorship:GAU // Tamara Alves (1983) is a Portuguese artist whose production covers a diversity of areas: from painting to illustration, from tattooing to urban art. In her work is represented the erotic panorama of the contemporary body, without organs, a raw passion, an animal becoming."Fire Walk With Me" is the name of a song from the Twin Peaks series, and suggests that Fire - understood as something demonic or loving - comes from the heart, in which the tiger personifies that passion. // www.tamaraalves.com

TAMARA ALVES - FIRE WALK WITH ME

The tiger is a personification of this passion (or the devil) that keeps the flame alive and acts on it.