A Taste of Art
Os Gemeous - Brazilian Voice Of Street Art
Throughout the time the artistic duo of twins from Brazil, Os Gemeos explored with dedication and care various techniques of painting, drawing, and sculpture, and had the street as their studio.
This year I visited the exposition of Os Gemeos in Museu Oscar Niemeyer (MON) in Curitiba, Brazil. The museum brought together works featuring the past of the duo artists and their recent works inspired by the vivid dreams that, as twins, they frequently share. Their work merged symbols, genres, and techniques in order to create visual narratives that are open to an endless number of interpretations.
Biography
Otávio and Gustavo Pandolfo or Os Gemeos were born in São Paulo in 1974. As children growing up in the streets of the traditional district, they have developed a distinct way of playing and communicating through artistic language. Their family supported and encouraged their interest in art and the twins found their way through then burgeoning hip hop culture in Brazil in the late 1980s.
The twins started out as break dancers and got involved with the graffiti aspect later on. Their first graffiti steps world attempted to emulate American hip hop pieces, in early New York style. Nevertheless, as the style progressed they have consciously started inserting Brazilian cultural elements and influences into their work.
Slowly but surely Os Gemeos began to gain large recognition in the underground urban scene and as their influence spread across the graffiti urban community, they began to help define Brazil's very own unique style. Stylistically, the artist duo is heavily influenced by the cryptic art of the São Paulo-based pixação graffiti movement as well as American hip-hop, while the subjects range from family portraits to commentary on local social and political circumstances, as well as Brazilian folklore.
Slowly but surely Os Gemeos began to gain large recognition in the underground urban scene and as their influence spread across the graffiti urban community, they began to help define Brazil's very own unique style. Stylistically, the artist duo is heavily influenced by the cryptic art of the São Paulo-based pixação graffiti movement as well as American hip-hop, while the subjects range from family portraits to commentary on local social and political circumstances, as well as Brazilian folklore.
Barry McGee helped influence Os Gemeos' street art and their lives were never been the same after their encounter. During this encounter, McGee shared graffiti techniques and other experience. Soon after, 12oz Prophet Magazine creates an interview on them and Os Gemeos' fame began to rise. This was the first time their work began to hit audiences outside of South America. Their first solo exhibition in the United States was at The Luggage Store in San Francisco, California in 2003. Two years later, as part of the Dreamland Artist Club project, they painted a 130 foot mural in Coney Island on Stillwell Ave.
In 2008 Os Gemeos painted six large-scale murals on Tate Modern London for the three month duration of their exhibition along five other acclaimed street artists of what was considered as London's first major public museum display of street art.
They have also participated in many European urban art festivals (Vilnius Street Art Festival in Lithuania in 2015, Vulica Brazil Festival in Belarus in 2015…)
In 2008 Os Gemeos painted six large-scale murals on Tate Modern London for the three month duration of their exhibition along five other acclaimed street artists of what was considered as London's first major public museum display of street art.
They have also participated in many European urban art festivals (Vilnius Street Art Festival in Lithuania in 2015, Vulica Brazil Festival in Belarus in 2015…)
In 2014, the Brazilian graffiti artists partnered up with GOL Airlines to paint a gargantuan mural on the fuselage of a Boeing 737 that would be used to carry Brazil's team during the World Cup. The plain depicts dozens of portraits, meant to represent the people of the Brazilian culture, rendered in artists' signature style: elongated faces, quirky outfits, colorful skin and animated expressions.
From the tail to nose and the engines, the jet's technological details and equipment are covered in the vibrant design, wrapping around the massive structure. With an airplane hangar as an art studio, the duo completed the plane piece throughout a week-long process, using about 1200 cans of spray.
From the tail to nose and the engines, the jet's technological details and equipment are covered in the vibrant design, wrapping around the massive structure. With an airplane hangar as an art studio, the duo completed the plane piece throughout a week-long process, using about 1200 cans of spray.
The exposition "OSGEMEOS: Segredos" in Curitiba.
This year I visited an exhibition "OSGEMEOS: Segredos" hold by the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba. There were more than 850 items, including paintings, immersive and sound installations, sculptures, site specific interventions, drawings and notebooks.
Their works could be seen as a form of contemporary surrealism, as the artists seek to defy both artistic and societal conventions through the exploration of the subconscious and imagination. Their extensive symbolism extends to their characters as well, with their yellow tone meant to defy racial associations, emphasizing unity and the establishing role that diversity plays in the artists' native Brazil and beyond.
This year I visited an exhibition "OSGEMEOS: Segredos" hold by the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba. There were more than 850 items, including paintings, immersive and sound installations, sculptures, site specific interventions, drawings and notebooks.
Their works could be seen as a form of contemporary surrealism, as the artists seek to defy both artistic and societal conventions through the exploration of the subconscious and imagination. Their extensive symbolism extends to their characters as well, with their yellow tone meant to defy racial associations, emphasizing unity and the establishing role that diversity plays in the artists' native Brazil and beyond.
"OSGEMEOS: Segredos" is the first large-scale retrospective that examines the artists' production from the early 1980s to the present day. "As the title 'Segredos' indicates, the objective of the show is to reveal new visions of the artistic work of Os Gemeos.
Personal objects such as notebooks, photos, drawings and paintings dating from the two brothers' childhood to the present are presented to the public for the first time, including studies and works of art that long precede their famous characters and shed light on the roots of their emergence. Artistic influences and collaborations are exhibited alongside recent paintings and sculptures".
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