Artist 101

1.

Double Trouble

Os Gêmeos is the Portugese translation for The Twins. Born in 1974, Octavio and Gustavo Pandolfo grew up in the São Paulo neighbourhood, Cambuci. Prompted by their mother from a young age, the brothers used art as a way of communicating between one another.

Fascinated by American hip hop culture and its growing popularity in Brazil, the duo used photos of New York graffiti art as inspiration for their creations. From here, they began their artistic journey - infused with their love for breakdancing - they began to develop their own distinct style that was a visual synthesis of their everyday lives.

By the age of 12, the duo were using any materials available, including car paint, latex, and spray nozzles, to create graffiti art. Using São Paulo as a rich source of inspiration, the duo filtered what they experienced in order to capture the essence of the city. Their playful and intuitive symbolic visual language is representative of Brazilian art and culture, as well as global inclusivity.

2.

Media

The larger than life long-limbed yellow figures of Osgemeos are simple yet incredibly playful. From paintings to sculpture, installation, digital animations and even a Boeing 737, their images often include graffiti taggers garbed in brightly patterned clothes. Keen to explore the surreal, the duo also use discarded doors, mirrors and walls to create works that signify an entry point to another world: a portal to alternative spaces where reality is irrelevant.

Their diverse commissions include a mural for the 2004 Athens Olympics, covering the façade of London’s Tate Modern in 2008 and painting the landmark wall at Houston and Bowery in 2009 (first painted by Keith Haring in 1982, New York.

3.

Style & Influences

Inspired by the yellow tinge both share in their dreams, their figures have become representative of the world’s diverse population. Using both urban and rural motifs of Brazilian culture; from street carnivals, music and folk art to hooded youths breaking into train yards, they create signature portraits. While their aesthetic is fully representative of their unique style, the fantastical elements of their work have been compared to the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and M. C. Escher.

In 1993, the duo met the graffiti artist Barry McGee. Their encounter influenced the brothers to quit their jobs and focus solely on their artistic careers, which today are acknowledged as two of the most prominent in public art.

4.

On the Market

Similar to many of their contemporaries (Banksy, Shepard Fairey and Retna), Osgemeos have traversed their visual language from the realm of street art to the commercial art world as well as other popular industries. In 2013 the duo collaborated with the fashion brand Louis Vuitton on a collection of silk scarves.

While their art is now openly welcomed by city authorities – which, like Banksy, add extreme value to their tagged buildings - they acknowledge the difference between their street art and commercial work.

Placed in numerous public collections, which include the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, they have also received a variety of international public commissions. In 2015 the duo created the video work Parallel Connection for Time Square’s famous Midnight Art Project, breaking the barriers between imagination and reality. Their work is often sold at auction for prices of up to £300,000.

5.

Research & Collecting

With street art becoming an increasingly popular category, collectors should be aware that there are a number of artists working in diverse mediums, with differing budgets. In November 2019, Bonhams achieved a world auction record with the sale of Keith Haring’s wall mural Untitled (The Church of the Ascension Grace House Mural), which sold for $3,860,075. The monumental 85 foot artwork was the first of his murals to ever come to auction, and was painted circa 1983/1984 in the stairwell of a former convent and home of the Catholic Youth Organization in Upper Manhattan.

Lifestyle brands have also become inextricably linked with street and graffiti art. Established in 1994, the American skateboarding and clothing brand Supreme has ascended to a cross cultural icon of fashion and art. Recognised for their series of artist-collaborative skateboard decks, established in 1998, a complete group of 131 full-sized Supreme skateboard decks from 2011-2019 sold at auction for £125,062. Artists in the deck include Jack and Dinos Chapman, Nan Goldin and Cindy Sherman.

While original pieces are readily available for a higher price, prints and editions by graffiti artists are a popular and more affordable alternative. Bonhams offers works by KAWS, Keith Haring and Supreme starting from £500. To understand more about the birth and lineage of graffiti art, most cities have Street Art tours provided by locals who have inside knowledge on the area and the artists. There are also fantastic books on the history of urban culture. Some examples include, The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti by Rafael Schacter and Trespass: A History Of Uncommissioned Urban Art by Carlo McCormick.

For more from our Post-War & Contemporary Art team, follow @bonhamscontemporary on Instagram.