Street art in Barcelona, expression and urban culture made art
When talking about Catalunya culture, Barcelona is the first city that comes to our mind, as you can find a lot of famous artists in Barcelona. Also, this city contains thousands of forms of culture, one of them being art. It has a lot of great museums and art galleries, but you could also find art in its streets. Yes, streets in Barcelona are full of art and it is a lot of fun to explore it.
Just like architectural, musical, theatrical and poetic art, street art is also a mode of expression and it is very important in Spain. Street art in Barcelona is a whole form of artistic expression, Mural del Beso being the most emblematic one, you can find it in Gothic Quarter. Street art and graffiti takes place in its streets, which are large canvases that reflect many social and cultural meanings. Also, if you are wondering around on the streets of Barcelona, graffiti is another art form that you will notice.
Urban art in Barcelona has evolved enormously since its beginnings. You can notice it while you are discovering various works by different artist. For example, you can notice that different techniques have been used. If you are a lover of art in all its expressions, we invite you to take a walk through the streets of Barcelona and get to know the best street art!
Barcelona breathes art everywhere, and its street artists leave their mark in every corner. The canvases in this city are endless, from white walls to shop doors, they are an excellent place to leave art.
Where to find street art in Barcelona?
There is not only one place to visit in the city to see street art. By walking a few streets, you will already be able to see different kinds of street art in Barcelona, as many streets and alleys are covered with art.
We leave you a list of the best street artists in the city, so that you have an idea of the techniques and style that each one has. Also, if you are more interested in street art, then you can book a walking tour or a street art tour Barcelona. There are a lot of options, and you can have a private tour as well.
Lady Aiko, female exponent of street art in Barcelona
Aiko Nakagawa, a Japanese artist known as Lady Aiko, was born in 1975. She is one of the most important female street artists, known for her ability to combine Western artistic movements with Eastern technical artistic skills.
She grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York City in the 1990s, where she studied together with Takashi Murakami. Aiko has had solo and group exhibitions around the world and also some art festivals have presented her art works.
Vhils
His real name is Alexandre Farto. Vhils and the art he creates under this name is a whole conceptual system based on humanism.
He is not an artist that many people know. He is a Portuguese artist who creates real wonders with a drill, a chisel and different types of paints.
The most notable aspect of his works is that he always creates portraits in relief, as a way of making the world’s population visible. An example of this is the mural Ethereal that he created at Goldman Global Arts in Miami.
SpY, urban art in Spain for everyone
Without a doubt, one of the best urban artists in the world and one of the pioneers in Spain. His work is far from the era of ‘classic’ graffiti, of which he was a fairly well-known and respected exponent. He started doing graffiti in the 1980s, inspired by the paintings he saw on the street. He was a self-taught artist, SpY developed his paintings with a marked style of his own.
In the 1990s, the Madrid-based artist began to evolve towards urban art. He uses different artistic media, managing to separate the concept of graffiti from what would be street art, creating images from urban objects outside their usual context.
Blek le Rat
Xavier Prou, known as Blek leRat, was born in Paris in 1952. He was a typically French artist influenced by graffiti.
Blek has always been in constant research of urban space for more than 28 years. He is still active in urban art but independently. He continues to inspire other young urban artists around the world. He has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in art galleries around the world.
At the time, the urban artist declared that: “Despite police reprisals against graffiti, I will continue to storm the streets in the dark, because for me, taking work directly to the street is an essential part of the evolution of art.”.
Gonzalo Borondo, pioneer of urban art in Barcelona
A famous Spanish artist, who didn`t born in Barcelona, but in the city of Segovia, Borondo. He is now one of the most prolific urban artists. His work inhabits the apparently most forgotten corners of European cities.
The essence of his work is to deepen the understanding of the human psyche. In his urban works, Borondo wants to have a more direct and intimate connection with the viewer. He respects and values the history of the place, so that the art interacts with space.
One of his most outstanding murals is “Piedad”, created at the MAAM_ Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove in Rome, in 2013.
