I’m a huge fan of street art, so during a recent trip to Boston when I heard Os Gêmeos would be doing a show at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), I had to check it out. The demonstration is the first solo exhibition in the United States by the Brazilian brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, also known as Os Gêmeos.
Os Gêmeos is one of the most powerful forces in the world of urban art, with the twins sharing a deep bond. In fact, they often share the same bizarre dreams, which they dictate through their art.
“In an effort to share their dreams with the world, they depict their visions in surreal paintings, sculpture, and installations: human figures with removable faces, exploding bursts of color, and room-size heads installed with shanty interiors,” it says on the ICA website.
The brothers also draw from their surroundings, and as you stroll through the open ICA room taking in surreal paintings, like a man with exaggerated features in an upside-side house holding a naked woman embodied by a guitar, a lighthouse with a human head, a green man spitting out a rainbow and a smiling young boy wearing brightly patterned clothing seemingly being eaten by a wall. They also commonly depict visuals of street artists in bizarre fashion, as well as rural Brazil, as this is where the brothers got their start. And in the late 1980s, when there was a lack of information about art and spray paint was expensive, the duo used house paints, brushes and rollers, helping them to create their own unique style.Instead of calling themselves “street artists,” Os Gêmeos prefer to think they are two people who “just want to paint.” No matter what you call them, it’s hard to ignore the creative statement the brothers have made in the world of street art.
For a more visual idea of work Os Gêmeos has been involved in, check out the gallery below. If you’re in Boston anytime now until Thanksgiving 2012 visit the ICA to see their current exhibit. You can also view some of the murals they have adorned the city’s streets and buildings with.
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[Image via Os Gêmeos; Gallery images via Os Gêmeos, d.billy, we-make-money-not-art, erokism, Lord Jim, garybirnie.co.uk]