Pez is a graffiti artist from Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. He was born in 1976. He started painting graffiti

Graffiti

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....

in 1999 in Barcelona, and his tag gradually changed from his signature into the fish character he paints today. "Little by little his tags turned into the shape of a smiling blue fish, and he became a celebrity throughout Barcelona"

In the early 2000's, Pez begins to travel around Spain invited by graffiti contests and urban art exhibitions: Madrid, Pamplona, Las Palmas, Valencia, Bilbao, Sevilla. In a few years he begins spreading his smile around Europe. He's invited to show his work in art galleries: Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Milan, ...

In 2006, he travels to South America to paint in Caracas, Bogota and Lima. Some months after, Pez takes part in the K-Swiss Tour, brand that leads the Asian painting market. The K-Swiss Tour brings him to Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei.

During the last years, Pez has exhibited in Bogotá, Barcelona, Hamburg, Paris, London, NY, Portland and Los Angeles.

His works appear in the best-known street art books: Street Logos, Art of Rebellion, Street Art, Bcn New York, ... in specialized magazines and internet websites. His work also appears in documentaries such as: "Bomb It-The Movie", Muros Libres", Free Walls" and "A Primer on Urban Painting".

Now he paints not only his fish character but also demons, angels, giraffes, and Martians. There is one thing they all have in common... A huge and infectious smile.

About his work

Pez does not represent any crew of graffiti writers, he paints with the world. The reason for Pez's unique tag is in his words, "I was hopping it would be different from other writers, because i've found the way to mix letters and logo." Pez says he does not play the competitive game, he just paints because he loves to paint. The paint Pez uses is made in Barcelona called Montana Cans. It is Pez's favorite brand but he will use any paint. When asked what his favorite things to paint on his response was, "I love store shutters and rubbish walls at the center of the city. I like track sides too and the highway spots. I'm looking for places that my pieces will remain for the longest time possible."

Straight From The Artist

Pez likes paint everywhere, reggae parties, dancehall queens, Caribbean beach, drum and bass montanan cans, fat-cap, ekosystem.org, happy characters, Bob Sponja, free entry, and free beer.
Pez dislikes police in helicopters, TV trash, the airports, hypocrisy, war, and the typical questions of street art.
His favorite place in the world is Canary Islands off the coast of Africa.
To Pez, Barcelona is the city where he lives, enjoys, works, and does his best parties. His best friends and his best works are on the streets of Barcelona. He does not have a favorite place in Barcelona but he said he likes Las Ramblas a lot. He said "you can enjoy smiling of a lot of crazy people walking on this street, and you have beer 24 hours.

Further reading

• Pez's official website
• Pez street work pictures
• Time article
• Street Logos, Tristan Manco, Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0-500-28469-5
• Pez's limited edition sculpture
• Pez's graffiti canvases