Os Gêmeos
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Os Gêmeos (Portuguese for The Twins) are graffiti artist identical twin brothers (born 1974) from São Paulo, Brazil, who's real names are Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo. They started painting graffiti in 1987. Their work often features yellow-skinned characters.
Their first significant artistic influence outside their immediate environment, and their limited access to American Hip Hop (Style Wars, Subway Art, Beat Street), stemmed from a chance encounter with Barry McGee (also known as Twist), who happened to be in Brazil for several months on a study program through the San Francisco Art Institute in 1993. Through Barry McGee, Os Gemeos met Allen Benedikt (founder of 12oz Prophet Magazine and also part Brazilian), who together with Caleb Neelon (also known as Sonik) became the first to interview them after a trip to Brazil in 1997 (12oz Prophet Magazine Issue 6; 1998), which became Os Gemeos' introduction to audiences outside of South America.
Their first solo exhibition in the United States was at The Luggage Store in San Francisco, California.
"With rage, bliss and the power of their simultaneity, Os Gemeos have come to signify Brazilian graffiti itself to many viewers."[1]
"Renowned for spray-painting with a kind of intuitive understanding, they have also gained recognition for their fantastic characters..."[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Tristan Manco, Caleb Neelon, Lost Art (October 2005). Graffiti Brasil. Thames & Hudson, 64. ISBN 0500285748.
- ^ Nicholas Ganz, Tristan Manco (October 2004). Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents. Thames & Hudson, 85. ISBN 0500511705.
[edit] Further reading
- New York Times article
- Urban Discipline 2002, Getting Up, ISBN 3-00-009421-0
