There’s been a refreshing revival of street art in recent years, all over the world and not just limited to urban areas. Spanish artist Ampparito is one of the artists who have taken street art to a new level of realism, wit and playfulness. His work is large scale and site specific, using common objects in uncommon spaces to subvert the original meaning of the items and to create a new visual and conceptual experience.
The works feature ubiquitous objects and thus have a strong sense of familiarity, making the viewer instantly connect to the works and reflect, smile, and admire. The ‘Murals’ series includes artworks that are amusing, like the painting of a huge Metro Madrid pink ticket in an anonymous area in London, undoubtedly eliciting confused reactions as well as knowing smiles from passersby. Others tackle aspects of the everyday, human nature or even deeper social and economic issues. “About anxiety, uncertainty and teeth grinding” features a large pen cap with teeth marks, “I accept the terms and conditions” pictures a fish hook, while “Match of matches” depicts human figures obliviously racing to light the match they are standing or crawling on. Highly realistic, the murals always provoke a reaction but they also become a part of the space they inhabit, whether it’s a London street, a garden in Milan, or an agricultural building in the countryside. The artist will have a solo exhibition from November 11 to December 4 at the Moosey Art gallery in Norwich, UK.
