Organized by the cultural entity Rebobinart Association on behalf of the real estate development company Temprano Capital Partners, the Spanish street-art duo PichiAvo were recently invited to Barcelona to create their first large-scale mural in the city. For students that reside at the Livensa Living Diagonal Alto in Esplugues de Llobregat, a building designed by the Portuguese architect José Quintela da Fonseca, they now have a stunning, and quite particular portrait of the Greek Goddess Athena that highlights the beauty of classical art in a contemporary aesthetic.
About the Mural
This mural is a wonderful display of the artists incomparable style to deconstruct the purest classic art iconography through the incorporation of urban expressions. Despite not being a contemporary figure, Pallas Athena’s sculpture from the Austrian Parliament, in Vienna has become a key figure in the collective imaginary of our civilization. Being a representative character of diverse feminist schools of thought, this goddess represents the warrior, protector, wise and independent woman.
To provoke an optimal reaction from the viewer of the Greek goddess Athena, the artists also illustrated the attributes embodied under her name that emphasizes a unifying message in support of women empowerment; as producers of knowledge, fighters, intelligent, emancipated and, above all, free. Additionally, just as the representation of Athena in several European Parliaments depict protection to citizens and territories, PichiAvo frame here the goddess’ figure as the protector and guardian of the city of Esplugues de Llobregat and, more explicitly, of the students who will inhabit Livensa Living Diagonal Alto Barcelona.
PichiAvo have continued to confirm that the beauty of classical art is not their central focus but instead to disaggregate those symbols through a contemporary and transgressive aesthetic in order to construct new conceptual lectures and communicate fundamental values and concepts within our society.
About PichAvo
The Valencia-born artist duo Pichi and Avo are recognized for their ability to ignite relationships between art, sculpture, architecture, space and social contexts. Their style adopts a focus which is both beautiful and performative, firm in its discussion and totally the perfect deconstruction of classic art and contemporary urban art, in order to create a new fusion, which whilst faithful to its classic heritage, creates a new and exciting vision of art. PichiAvo are one since 2007, fleeing from the self-centeredness of graffiti, united to create a single piece of work, reciting a conceptually urban poetry, born from the artistic formalism of the street, transferring fragments of a wall to the canvas and from the canvas to the wall in a personal version.
About the Rebobinart Association
Founded in 2012, the Rebobinart Association puts urban art at the service of the social and cultural dynamization of public space. They are experts in the development of social projects through quality urban art. They work to promote the most elaborate expressions of urban art and destigmatize the perception of an artistic form that has often been considered vandalism and invasive.
They promote a vision of professional urban art putting it at the service of society through the projects that are rooted in the territory, which add value to the urban space and generate new ways of communicating with citizens, encouraging a critical spirit and transmitting messages from a social perspective.
About Temprano Capital Partners
Temprano Capital Partners was founded in 2013 and it is the first private investment and real estate development company that works in the students’ housing and designs buildings that include mural artworks enhancing the presence of urban art in different cities.
The student residence Livensa Living Barcelona Diagonal Alto is included within the portfolio of 11 students’ housing finished or still in development that Temprano has in Spain and Portugal. In all of them, designed by the architect José Quintela da Fonseca, Temprano considers artistic projects of this kind. In 2018, Temprano launched a first project in its student residence TSL Marquês de Pombal in Lisbon with the Portuguese artist Mr. Dheo. This June, Mr. Dheo intervened a new student residence in Oporto (Portugal).
Pichiavo: Instagram | Facebook
Rebobinart: Website | Instagram | Facebook
