▷ SpY | Buy Original Art Online

Spain

Biography

Spanish artist SpY is one of the most talked about urban artists today. From his first appearance as a graffiti artist in the mid-1980s to the appropriation of urban elements through transformation, his work is a commentary on contemporary reality. The artist creates large-scale installations and interventions that are always oozing good humour and irony. Each project Spy makes is even more grandeur, ambitious and impactful than the previous one. His art transforms urban spaces into experiences.

The self-taught artist began on the streets creating graffiti in the mid-eighties on the streets of Madrid. However, over the years, he became interested in exploring new forms. Specifically, by incorporating ordinary objects and the city's elements, he began creating installations that inspire contemplation. However, humour and irony are SpY's favourite weapons of choice for inspiring thought-provoking feelings. They are ever-present in his work and could be said to define it. One of the most iconic examples of his art is the installation (2013) which features 150 face cameras installed on the façade of the building, not overlooking anything. Another good example is (2013), created at City Leaks Urban Art Festival in Cologne, where a German car is fully wrapped in plastic film. SpY's work is able to elicit an immediate smile in the viewers, like his installation in Lausanne, Switzerland, created in 2014, in which he put a large-scale replica of a moon on a crane.

The artist is a highly sophisticated prankster who approaches every project with fresh eyes and sees it as a new challenge. His ability to infuse his art with humour and irony opens up a way for communication with the audience and inspires them to contemplate the work. Through his art, SpY criticizes today's society. However, he does not leave just negative messages but is more focused on messages on how to improve ourselves. Often these consist of phrases or just a simple word written on the building.

The artist draws inspiration from the city or the specific location by appreciating all its components. In 2023 his large-scale light installation at The Llum BCN light art festival in Barcelona immediately caught the audience's attention. It is a monolithic flaming red projection of humans' slow regression in regard to technology.

In 2022 SpY revealed the installation entitled location in front of the Pyramids of Giza, Cairo. As part of the Art D'Égypte's group exhibition titled , the work mixes ancient Egyptian culture and contemporary art with its spherical form and reflective surface. In 2019 SpY participated in the Völklinger hütte 5th urban art biennale with the work. The stunning piece was created by releasing red smoke from the chimney of an abandoned industrial plant, which was built in 1873 and is today under the protection of UNESCO.

Spy lives and works in Madrid.

Nationality

Spanish artists