All posts tagged: Sonja Ben

EVASIONES. THE STREET AS FICTION. Another Perspective on Urban Art in Barcelona

EVASIONES. THE STREET AS FICTION. Another Perspective on Urban Art in Barcelona

September 26, 2024

“Evasiones”: B-Murals and Indague reveal the most unknown and reflective side of graffiti and urban art.

EVASIONES. THE STREET AS FICTION

B-Murals and INDAGUE present “Evasiones. The Street as Fiction,” an exhibition that explores the lesser-known, reflective side of graffiti and urban art. Running from September 28th to November 23rd, the show invites visitors to pause and consider how urban art interacts with public spaces, transcending the confines of traditional exhibitions. The exhibition is free to the public, and the opening event will include a live performance by musician Enric Ponsa.

The show features renowned artists like Sebas Velasco, Ampparito & Irene Luna, Les Frères Ripoulain, Vandals On Holidays, Maz & Riaq Miuq, FMF, Jean Philippe Illanes, Yoni, and Sonja Ben. Each artist brings a unique perspective, from Les Frères Ripoulain’s critical exploration of graffiti in media to FMF’s fusion of illustration and ceramics through industrial recycling.

Sebas Velasco (b. 1988), continues his hunt for fragile brutalism that only rears its head in the margins of urban life. A multidisciplinarian, Velasco brings tenderness where you won’t expect to see it and may very well overlook it. With a blend of photography, video, and painting, he lays bare the blunt instruments of life, the destruction we’ve wrought, insisting there is something redeeming, poetic even. Like many of the brave artists and thinkers in this showcase, his work is reblending categories, street and gallery, personal and political.

Sebas Velasco (photo © courtesy of the artist)

From the press release: “The show is aimed at both scholars and researchers in the art world and anyone interested in discovering the most human, unknown, and reflective aspects of grati and urban art. The opening will take place on September 28th from 6 pm to 9 pm. Admission is free, and some of the artists featured in the exhibition will be attending, along with a live performance by musician Enric Ponsa. The exhibition will be open until November 23rd and parallel activities will be organized for all audiences.”

Sebas Velasco (photo © courtesy of the artist)
Sebas Velasco (photo © courtesy of the artist)
Sebas Velasco (photo © courtesy of the artist)
YONI (photo © courtesy of the artist)
Ampparito and Irene Luna. (photo © courtesy of the artist)
Sonja Ben (photo © courtesy of the artist)
Les Frères Ripoulain (“Desperate Housewives”, Marc Cherry). (photo © courtesy of the artist)

B-Murals Centre d’Art Urbà

C/ Ferran Turné 1-11, 08027 Barcelona

Opening: September 28th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m

Exhibition opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday, from 12 pm to 7 pm. Free admission.


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Taquen and Sonja Ben for Contorno Urbano Foundation/ 12 +1 Project in Barcelona

Taquen and Sonja Ben for Contorno Urbano Foundation/ 12 +1 Project in Barcelona

January 29, 2020

Today we visit the newest installations by Spanish artists who are participating in the community mural project that invites many disciplines and approaches to the public sphere, the “12+1 Project” in Sant Vicenç dels Horts, a neighborhood of Barcelona. In its third year, Contorno Urbano occupies a unique position in the public art world that stays clear of commercialism – as well as Street Art and graffiti – although it borrows from both. Today we see two of the newest participants and their walls.

Taquen. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)

Marking a decade as a muralist, Gonzalo Martin (1992) aka Taquen is a Spanish visual artist and illustrator with a clean linear style that may remind you of embroidery or stained glass design. His new wall for the Contorno Urbano 2020 program features a pigeon gently cradled in two hands. It calls to mind the fragility of life, and of nature.

Taquen. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)
Taquen. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)

He says that much of his work reflects a dialogue between our natural environment and our social behaviors. It’s a delicate balance, this organic relationship between us and our earth – and Taquen subtly appears to remind us that the balance is in our hands.

Taquen. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)

“Equilibrium is where I find the best way to integrate ourselves,” he says. “Without shocks, without exaggeration, leaving a camouflaged footprint that will become part of that environment naturally, without destabilizing it.”

Sonja Ben. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)

His creative partner on this outing is Barcelona born Sonja Ben, who is creating a brash and athletic counterpoint to this world of Taquen, popping with color. Performance comes to mind, seeing these animated figures punching forward like characters in a video game, avatars of aspiration and adventure.

Using symbols as actors, her work is representing the real world – in a child’s language; processing the travelogue of the inner explorer as seen through anime and saturated digital colorways.

Sonja Ben. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)
Sonja Ben. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)
Sonja Ben. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12+1 Project. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Clara Antón)
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