We sat down to talk with Spanish artist duo PichiAvo on their solo exhibition 'Chromata', their new mural in London and exploring innovative techniques.
This exhibition marks your return to London after 7 years. How does it feel to be back?
Avo: London was the first city that truly believed in us so coming back is always special. Our last show with StolenSpace was in 2020 but we couldn’t attend due to the pandemic that's why this return feels even more meaningful. This time we're coming back with a new body of work and new techniques that we're really excited to show – it's been two years since we started the first piece.
Pichi: London was the city where we first had the opportunity to show our art, it always makes us happy to return to London and share our new techniques and evolution.
What was it like painting the mural in Wandsworth?
Avo: We always enjoy painting, especially when we share our new concepts. It's an enriching process where we learn a lot and the audience can see how the mural comes to life, from the graffiti background to the classical character. This time, it's inspired by "Discobolus," a Greek sculpture hosted in the British Museum, which is our way of connecting the work to the place where we are.
Pichi: It was interesting to show the evolution on our work. It's also always nice to see people's reactions as they pass by and look at it.
We like the idea of uncovering what's already there, but hidden, like when you look at old painted shop windows, or walls full of layers, and history.
It would be great to talk about a specific work in more detail. Is there a piece in this exhibition that you feel is essential to your practice, and why?
Avo: In Chromata we present the Krystallika Chromata series. A new technique we have developed whilst keeping our usual drawing style, though this time we were inspired from what we see on the streets, especially shop front windows. It's like an archaeological act: when you remove something, something new appears. We like the idea of uncovering what's already there, but hidden, like when you look at old painted shop windows, or walls full of layers, and history.
Pichi: All the pieces have something interesting, from the play with colors and gradients to the compositions.
This body of work is an exploration of the presence and absence of colour. Could you talk more about this chromatic contrast?
Avo: We don't see presence and absence, or colour and greyscale as opposites. We look for the balance between all the elements: the colour, graffiti, and the classical figure. We want the viewer to see everything on the same level. We don't try to make the figure more important than the graffiti or the colour, because for us, everything exists together. We invite people to follow the colors and experience the work the same way we do.
Pichi: It’s a study of colour on how it changes when placed on grey, inspired by the Flemish technique.
In the end what matters to us is staying true to our essence adapting our new language to any surface or scale while keeping the same spirit that defines our work.
Can you explain the role of scale in your work? For example, the glass works are smaller than the paintings - what difference does scale have on an artwork?
Avo: The challenge is always to keep your essence no matter the size, it's about knowing how to apply the techniques according to the surface you're working on. In the case of the glass pieces even though it's something new for us and the technique is new, the style is very connected to our drawing on paper, so we managed to keep our essence even with the change on the surface. In the end, what matters to us is staying true to our essence adapting our new language to any surface or scale while we're keeping the same spirit that defines our work.
View 'Chromata' exhibition here.
