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Jaz

Franco Fasoli aka “Jaz” studied and worked in scenography at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and studied painting with Jose Marchi, Nahuel Vecino and Diana Aisemberg. He is recognized as one of the first major graffiti writers to begin painting in the streets of Buenos Aires in the mid 1990’s.

Jaz’s artwork evolved into large-scale figurative muralism, borrowing techniques and mediums from his scenography work and the political graffiti which characterizes the urban landscape of Buenos Aires. He works in blended mediums of latex paint, tar and gasoline, as well as in acrylic, aerosol and paper collage.

The artist explores identity, on both a personal and cultural level, in pieces that feature hybrid creatures, which are part man, part beast. His compositions are characterized by conflict and duality, and frequently reference popular culture and local traditions, with a particular emphasis on Latin American themes.

For more work by Jaz:
Website
Instagram
Available artworks in UNION Gallery

La Wife

After studying painting at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón, much of La Wife’s artwork developed in the public sphere. In 2007 she began participating in street art festivals, and working with collectives such as The Stickboxing Federation.

Raised in the Patagonia region of Argentina, La Wife cites the arid and exotic panoramas of her youth as a source of inspiration in her artwork. Her paintings often reference the rituals, traditions, flora, fauna and sun bleached skeletons that are common to that part of the country.

La Wife’s work draws from a range of eclectic influences; from comics, anime and pop art to the vintage aesthetic of the 50s and Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic prints. Her paintings, wheat pastes and illustrations feature an electric palate of fluorescent colours and portray a stylized vision of the future, where tradition and ritual converge.

For more work by La Wife:
Flickr
Available works in UNION Gallery

Malatesta

A former professional skateboarder, Dario Suarez aka Malatesta has transferred the skater’s intimate and dynamic relationship with public space and urban culture to his nostalgic, experimental artwork.

Malatesta creates mostly figurative works utilizing a range of mediums including stencil, etching and sculpture. He incorporates a number of methods in the creation of his vintage-style portraits, which are often elaborated by scratching the design from layers of paint on the surface of found objects like scrap metal. Local and urban culture feature heavily in his art along with references to anarchy and alternative scenes.

In 2006 Malatesta was part of a group of six artists who launched Hollywood in Cambodia, an artist-run urban art gallery in Buenos Aires.

For more work by Malatesta:
Instagram
Available artworks in UNION Gallery

Mart

Mart began painting in the streets of Buenos Aires at the tender age of 12, joining older graffiti writers to participate in the first wave of New York influenced graffiti to hit Argentina in the 1990’s. Working with these early writers, Mart became one of the first graffiteros to paint entire trains, introducing this form of art to Buenos Aires.

Over the years Mart’s style evolved beyond graffiti writing and he became a self-taught muralist. His public works are predominantly figurative, and often appear to be whimsical in nature. Mart uses fine, loose lines of freehand spray and vibrant swaths of latex paint to elaborate playful works where eccentric stylized characters are the protagonists of fantasy scenarios.

For more work by Mart:
Flickr
Instagram
Available artworks in UNION Gallery

NASA

NASA is Hernan Mariano Lombardo. His artistic formation is rooted in graphic design, architecture, skate and urban culture. NASA explores the chaos between the analog and digital worlds in murals and on canvas, clothing and objects.

A colour palette of high contrasts, and dynamic geometric forms juxtaposed with organic shapes and enigmatic symbols characterizes NASA’s artwork. Seeking to subvert traditional methods of communication in his cryptic compositions, NASA borrows from calligraphy, ideograms, graphic design, and modern art.

NASA’s collaborations range from painting the streets with DOMA and FASE, to murals commissioned by renowned architect Clorindo Testa.

For more work by NASA:
Instagram
Flickr
Available artworks in UNION Gallery

Nerf

Originally from Korea, Nerf has grown up in Argentina most of his life and has been painting graffiti for 15 years. Though his art is heavily influenced by the New York graffiti styles and hip hop of the 1970’s, Nerf is perhaps best known and admired for his distinctive style of 3D isometric forms.

Whereas many artists use computer software and masking tape to achieve the perfect angles and lines that make this 3D style visually pop off the wall, Nerf has reached a master’s level of skill, and paints his elaborate sculptural works completely free-hand.

Nerf’s pieces can be found blending into cohesive murals with street artists as well as lined up side by side along walls with other formidable graffiti writers. His abstract 3D style is incredibly versatile, and his futuristic landscapes of mutable shapes and bright colors enable him to blend seamlessly into murals of any artistic style.

For more work by Nerf:
Flickr

Pedro Perelman

Pedro Perelman is a member of FASE, a multi-disciplinary art, music and design collective which formed in Buenos Aires in 2000. Working with other artists, they pioneered the city’s street art scene. In his solo project, Perelman’s works are marked by their experimental character and graphic quality.

Perelman studied at the University of Design of Buenos Aires, where he has also worked as a teacher, and his design background has influenced both his murals and his more traditional artistic projects. His work, which displays a careful balance between organic and geometric forms, and incorporates both subtle and explicit elements, is carried out in a variety of mediums including canvases, walls, silkscreen prints, engravings and installations. The protagonists are often surreal characters, sleepwalking robots and synthesisers. The worlds depicted in his paintings provide a visual representation of Perelman’s other life – that of a musician.

For more work by Pedro:
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Available artworks in UNION Gallery

Parbo

Lucas Lasnier aka “Parbo” is a graphic designer and visual artist who was part of an entire generation of Argentine artists who took their talents in art and design beyond the traditional confines of gallery and commercial settings.

Having begun painting in the streets in 2001, experimenting with letter-based graffiti and stencil, Parbo ultimately gravitated towards large-scale muralism. Much of Parbo’s artwork is graphic design and character-culture inspired, though he also has a flair for stunningly realistic portraiture and bizarre installations.

In 2002 Parbo founded Kid Gaucho, a multidisciplinary design and art collective. The collective specializes in experimental and commissioned artwork and provocative installations as well as commercial projects.

For more work by Parbo:
Website
Flickr
Available artworks in UNION Gallery

Parquerama

Parquerama is a project from Matias Vigliano, a founding member of the DOMA collective.

Since DOMA’s formation in 1998 Vigliano has influenced the visual identity of the collective, injecting surreal imagery and ideas  into the urban landscape through painting, stencils and installations.

Parquerama is Vigliano’s individual project, and represents a distinctive graphic universe. A love of illustration, animation and influences from cinema and comic art inspire his designs, which include plush and vinyl dolls, books, illustrations and limited edition posters.

As a highly sought after creative mind Vigliano has worked for leading agencies, media and entertainment clients, and has earned a number of industry awards for his animations.

He continues to play an active role as part of the DOMA collective, creating installations and exhibiting throughout the world.

For more work by Parquerama:
Website
Available artworks in UNION Gallery

Pastel

Pastel is a painter and architect. His work is rooted in a consideration of public art as urban acupuncture. In his compositions plants and flora are both descriptive and conceptual tools that represent a place and symbolize the events that marked it, resulting in artworks that stand as contemplations of the dialogue between mankind and space, and the confrontation between industry and the natural world.

Working with flora as social symbolism, the artworks invite reflection on the nature of man and his surroundings. The existential, real, pure and tragic, almost forgotten in modern society.

Currently based in Buenos Aires, Pastel has exhibited in galleries and painted in festivals and residencies around the world, including most recently the Traffic Design Festival (Poland), Via Vai Project (Italy) and Art Basel (Miami).

For more work by Pastel:
Website
Instagram
Available artworks in UNION Gallery