Rounding out our week of Italian street artists and muralists, we see the newest by Davide DPA at the Pulpa Festival 2022 in Montesilvano. A city of the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy, Montesilvano has hosted this mural festival for only two years. Still, already the lineup of artists has distinguished itself.
Davide DPA. “Bekala”. Pulpa Festival 2022. Montesilvano, Italy. (photo courtesy of the festival)
Davide DPA, a self-described street poet, has been writing on the street, literally for a dozen years, beginning with chalk texts on the pavement. His writing style is a calligraffiti style that may call to mind those found in Middle Eastern works like those of the Tunisian El Seed, or LA’s Retna, the French Duo Monkeybird, or the Mexican Said Dokins.
Davide DPA. “Bekala”. Pulpa Festival 2022. Montesilvano, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
He’s also wheat-pasted more straightforward poetry texts on walls, painted wall murals, done hand lettering on rolldown gates, and painted large portraits on parking lots best visible from a plane. Here at Pulpa he brings “Bekala” whose very skin looks like layers of calligraphy in flesh tones.
Davide DPA. “Bekala”. Pulpa Festival 2022. Montesilvano, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)Davide DPA 2015. (photo copyright the artist)Davide DPA. 2016 (photo copyright the artist)Davide DPA. 2018 (photo copyright the artist)
Street art continues to move to small towns and cities, expressing itself in various manners. The 7th edition of the Cheste Street Art Festival (Graffitea Cheste) is a perfect example of how dispersed the scene has become as it intertwines with murals. The result is a more sophisticated survey of art movements than most towns would ever see, including those with museums.
The town of Cheste (Xest in Valencian) is in the province of Valencia, and its nearly 9,000 inhabitants are traditionally involved with agriculture, with an emphasis on wine. Sponsored by the city, a few brands, foundations, and art institutions, you won’t find many politically challenging themes, but the scale and quality of work can be appreciable.
One small series of five paintings of particular note are the blurred video versions (if you will) of interpretations of works painted at the turn of the previous century by the Spanish Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla. With roots in graffiti and street art, the artist Salvaje Selva is a painting teacher in Madrid. Frequently he also paints with Kako Selva on collaborative murals under the moniker Gesto. Selva says these new murals are “in homage to the great master” on his Instagram page.
“It has been a real pleasure to be able to work based on the work of this great painter, who has inspired me to interpret freely and let myself go,” he says. “In addition, studying from painting and practice is always very grateful. It gives you a deeper insight into the work of artists. Within this dialogue, I wanted to include the relationship with the support and leave part of the voice of the wall itself.”
The degree of community involvement for Graffitea Cheste is substantial and sincere with tours, symposia, and educational programming. By the end of the June festival this year, there were 13 more murals added to the extensive collection. The celebration closed with a flourish and a screening of the documentary about the great Valencian illustrator José Segrelles.
We thank photographer Lluis Olive Bulbena for sharing his discoveries with BSA readers.
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BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
