Cool Hunting

Twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo of Os Gemeos are perhaps the most prominent graffiti artists from the Brazilian talent pool of which they belong. Their "Drawings" exhibit, which just opened in their hometown of São Paulo at the heavy-hitting Galeria Fortes Vilaça, is a collection of concept drawings and general doodles pulled from the artists' own archives. These simple pen-and-ink compositions seemingly done off the cuff allow us short glimpses into the brothers' ingenuity when they sit down to prepare and conceive ideas and designs for their street artwork. As the drawings show, this can range from the absurd to the referential. (Click images for detail and go here more.)

There is no main thread connecting each of the 30 images to the next; in fact, if hard-pressed to find one, you could say it's an exemplary self-curated proof of the duo's limitless imagination. One drawing depicts a clown in various solitary moments, another puts a boy sleeping on a bed atop a giant fish and, in another, a man and a woman are shown embracing with the phrase "Lost virginity at 25 years old to Aunt" written below. Both the surreal and ordinary can co-exist in the Os Gemeos world, especially if there's a spray can around to help anchor it. Their most recognizable street art—figures with wide faces, thin appendages and yellow skin—are secondary here.

Os Gemeos' most recent commission took them to Scotland to work on The Graffiti Project, where they painted on a historic castle.

Os Gemeos: Drawing
30 June-27 July 2007
Galeria Fortes Vilaça
Rua Fradique Coutinho 1500
São Paulo, 05416-001 Brazil
tel. +55 11 3032 7066