Another Stroke on the Wall: Compendium of Barcelona Graffiti Art

There is nothing less immutable than urban art. Precisely, graffiti and murals depict the opposite: a permanent state of variation, of mood alteration, creative ignition, and expressive manifestation, free from dogmas and sacred territories. Today's great work can disappear tomorrow, buried by another spray. And everyone is at peace with that.

Street art proposes a constant transformation that invites continuous discovery. Each sighting of a graffiti becomes a kind of intimate and ephemeral privilege. Barcelona has always overflowed with art in every corner, but now it multiplies its creative expressiveness thanks to a radiation of urban talent that today reaches its maximum expression.

The unpredictable graphic outbreaks on walls and shutters turn the Catalan capital into a city that is always about to happen, where nothing remains and external marks reveal an internal metabolism in perpetual motion.

From time to time, these art samples make headlines, but that doesn't last either. In that universe of colorful strokes, bombastic symbols, and notorious signatures, the most popular or controversial image of the moment can be quickly displaced and forgotten. Let's think, for example, of the recent protests against the imprisonment of Pablo Hasél and the collective action in favor of freedom of expression that took place in the Parc de les Tres Xemeneies del Poble Sec, led by the artist Roc Blackblock and his bust of the emeritus king.

First, it was the City Council that made that drawing of the monarch with several arrows stuck in it disappear, although it immediately apologized by offering means to repaint the image. Blackblock refused to reproduce the mural again. In return, he replicated with an image of Franco in the same place. What few people know is that a few days later, his latest work, along with that of many other artists like LaCastillo or Sigrid Amores, who painted more graffiti on the same wall in favor of Hasél's freedom and against censorship, were destroyed with vandalistic and anonymous scribbles. Now almost no one talks about it anymore.

New and protest murals in Barcelona

The Tres Chimeneas gardens have emerged in recent times as the great epicenter of evanescent art. It is true that there we find a rich activity and a permanent urban intervention, but we will soon see that it is not the only place. Any day we can stroll through that open and crowded space to the rhythm of the particular orchestra formed by sprays shaking with skaters bouncing against the ground to see up close how the city mutates. Sheltered by the tall chimneys of that power plant popularly known as "La Canadiense" we can see applied graffiti artists arching over the walls, and delight ourselves with amazing works such as that painting of a crowned man who invites us to return his gaze with a mischievous gesture, work of the activeTim Marsh.

Near the hip-hop buzz of the Tres Chimeneas we find more explosions of talent in Plaça de Raquel Meller. The wall that crowns this cement tab above Paral·lel has become a rotating mural project baptized as Arnau Gallery, precisely because it is located in an emblematic space in Barcelona: the old Arnau Theater. This initiative is directed and produced by Difusor and Street Art Barcelona. The last time we passed by, a lively urban jungle, inhabited by a multitude of multicolored animals, was sprouting from the wall. It is the work of Zach Oreo and Ekosaurio.

On the sides of that large mural, two others are visible, the first located on the corner with Nou de la Rambla, a breathtaking painting in the tradition of South American muralism, signed by the Chilean artist Estoy.

The wall of Plaça de Raquel Meller has become a rotating mural project

Especially fascinating is the one located right next to the street sign of les Tàpies:a cyberpunk woman in blue tones with whom Deih postulates a Barcelona of 2049 and makes our imagination fly to the worlds of Moebius.

If there is a scenario that stands out today as a space for contemporary transformation and vindication, that is the old Modelo prison. Recently, its walls host a new artistic intervention, a feminist mural that represents the diversity of women and their roles in society. This work by illustrators Lola Vendetta, María Pichel, Amaia Arrazola, Vicky Cuello, Carolina Monterrubio and Marina Capdevila has been carried out in collaboration with the collective and self-managed publication "Femiñetas". It defends the motto Together, diverse and rebellious, with the need to visualize feminist activism and gender-perspective policies applied in the city.

The old Modelo prison has become a scenario of transformation and contemporary vindication, with interventions such as "Together, diverse and rebellious"

Beyond that recent work, touring the perimeter of La Modelo currently is like passing through the different rooms of a museum. A cada tramo de pared puedes encontrarte con un chimpancé gigante vestido con chándal caro, una cara invertida y sonriente, hipnóticos personajes en blanco y negro o alucinantes geometrías con coloraciones que saltan del plano. On each stretch of wall you can find a giant chimpanzee dressed in an expensive tracksuit, an inverted and smiling face, hypnotic black and white characters or amazing geometries with colors that jump off the plane.

Another contemporary protest act to highlight is the movement of the anonymous artist Sinpapeles. This Banksy of Barcelona spreads his cursive signature, made with a stylized linked letter typical of a schoolboy, on planters, walls and metro stations in the city center. His motto has even been seen in the Macba or the Filmoteca. With this repetition of a univocal message, the artist tries to remind that while someone with papers benefits, there will always be a good number of undocumented foreigners cleaning houses and serving tables. His voice resonates: some have even tattooed his signature.

PobleNou is another graphic trench of permanent action. In the old industrial district of Barcelona, the aerosol avant-garde multiplies by moments. Urban art makes its way over the bricks in enclaves such as the Biblioteca de Sant Martí or the block of Agricultura, Veneçuela, Treball and Pallars streets. At the confluence of Espronceda and Marroc streets, in addition to spotting a gigantic Roman column ennobling an old facade, we can see groups of children being instructed in the art of drawing on the wall. That wall became a canvas a long time ago.

Reaching the end of Pere IV street in Poblenou, we are greeted by the colorful geometric shapes that adorn most of the ground floors on that sidewalk, presided over by the creation center La Escocesa. In this setting of construction sites and dilapidated premises, fantasy nests. At the corner of Pere IV and Selva de Mar, we witness a polychromatic explosion where a mysterious face is hidden. Right next door, a girl in a swimsuit walks between golden lines and psychedelic flashes. Above, a man smokes from his balcony. For a moment, we observe him as if he were another drawing.

Very close to here, at the corner of Selva de Mar and Perú, we locate one of the most popular graffiti in Barcelona: the late singer Pau Donés of Jarabe de Palo seen by the artist JLG Arte.

Another underworld of graphic illusion is the Nau Bostik, whose enclosure unleashes a fabulous open-air art exhibition. Visiting this young creation space in La Sagrera is not only a sensational opportunity to immerse ourselves in photographic exhibitions, historical retrospectives, and flea marketsvintage. All its facades are flooded with expansive samples of urban art. The diversity of forms and styles is overwhelming: here a leopard's head, there a girl in a printed dress on an evocative postcard; now sinuous stains mixing tones, later histrionic caricatures on a pink background, then a disturbing character in a coat and balaclava signed by BTOY.Jofre OliverasIt is such an evocative and striking transit that it is hardly worth trying to explain it with words. It is imperative to visit Nau Bostik and once there, exercise your pupils and cervicals to appreciate each mural as it deserves.

Beyond these concentrations of street art, it is important to be clear that spray paint can splash any corner of our city. A good example is the final ramp of Lepanto street. In just a few steps, or with a simple turn of the head, we can enjoy two glorious works: at number 409, the French artist Miss Van adorns a house with two colorful characters in Venetian attire; at number 424 of the same street, the back facade of a building reveals a colossal abstract mural, a work by the international artist SIXE. It was created in the context of the Open Walls Conference 2016 urban art festival, and is considered the largest in Barcelona.

Stoic Classics of Street Art in Barcelona

Surprisingly, there are street art works that have withstood the test of time. Barcelona has granted the benefit of posterity to some artists, whose works endure the years without being replaced or defiled. Thus, even today, wonders such as the photomosaic The world is born in every kiss, by Joan Fontcuberta, which continues to illuminate imaginations and fill Instagrams from its corner of Isidre Nonell square. Beyond all comment, Chillida's archifamosos murals still shine andKeith Haringin the Plaça dels Àngels, next to the Macba.

Barcelona grants the benefit of posterity to some artists, whose works resist the passage of time

Another image about to be considered classic is the fabulous comic mural that the Valencian cartoonistDaniel Torrespainted in 2011 on the facade of number 89 Fluvià Street, in what used to be a warehouse for the Norma Cómics publishing house. A complete tribute to the fine line and elegance of the bande dessinée, the Franco-Belgian comic.

The list of walls that have managed to dodge the onslaught of the years is long. Art continues to integrate with the neighborhood thanks to works such as Panorama, a colossal female portrait by the Cuban artist Jorge Rodríguez located at 215 Selva de Mar street, and Els gats by the illustrator Arnal Ballester on Xuclà street. Somewhat battered, the castellers erected by the artist Gonzalo Borondo on Pallars street resist, as do the walls that pay homage to Catalan rumba on Cera street, a work by Luis Zafrilla.

Unfortunately, the list of casualties also grows by the moment: we little imagined that the pandemic would take away the iconic mural on the facade of La Carboneria on Urgel street. The disappearance of the Franco Zombie from Urquinaona square also meant a painful loss.

Characters, shutters and unexpected fantasies

Certain graffiti catches us by surprise, and makes us rub our eyes in pure stupefaction. The mural we find at number 25 of Francesc Cambó Avenue leaves us dumbfounded.The painters Miquel Ballester, Rafael Cerdan, Jonathan Cerdan and Andreu Mitjans simulated a continuation of the facade of the old modernist poultry shop Pavia, without skimping on details.This formidable trompe l'oeil recreates details such as the shop assistant greeting us at the door of the premises, and various neighbors looking out from the upper balconies, including a small dog. The workBalcons de Barcelona, created in 1992 by the groupCité de la Création, achieves a similar effect. It was born in the context of the old campaignBarcelona, make yourself beautifulof facade and monument restoration, and can be seen from Pablo Neruda Square in the Eixample.

Despite their aesthetic finesse, some of these paintings are little more than advertisements, like the curious car parks decorated with graffiti by the company ArteExtra, or those lustrous lizards that roam the wall of Bar Konbe in Les Corts. Other murals represent true creative explosions, such as the fascinating Tribute to Joan Miró which, by the hand of artist Sixe Paredes, surprisingly emerges from a party wall between Riereta and Sant Pau streets, in the Raval. Also reverences for the enormous collective mural that gives multicultural airs to Plaza del Poble Romaní, in the Gypsy Gràcia.

In the end, the artistic epiphany at street level is served. It doesn't matter if you cross the Sant Pau del Camp Gardens overwhelmed by that tremendous cosmonaut prostrated before a resplendent prism, or if you come across the graphic tribute to David Bowie that the students of Institut Maragall have just painted on the walls of the center.

Precisely, discovering popular myths is one of the greatest entertainments when contemplating the city's walls. At number 32 of Creu Coberta street, a phenomenal giant portrait of the artist Rosalía, a work by graffiti artist Uriginal, can be seen. Another recently immortalized idol is Maradona. Signed by tvboy at the beginning of 2021, this painted bust of Pelusa wears a blaugrana kit up to half his body, with the colors of the Argentine national team on the other side.

Undoubtedly a vibrant exercise is discovering characters and figures on the doors of establishments. An attentive tour through the streets, paying attention to the lowered blinds, can reveal several silkscreened appearances. For a short time now, the famous The Weeknd, author of the hit "Blinded by the light", can be seen under the sign of a greengrocer's shop on Torrijos street.

A vibrant exercise is discovering characters and figures on the blinds of establishments in Gràcia

It is also signed by the popularJoel Arroyo, an artist who spreads himself uncontrollably across the shutters of the Gràcia neighborhood. He pays homage to the painter Tamara de Lempicka in the arcades of a building on Encarnación street, and dedicates a large mural to the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in Ros de Olano. But you will see more of his works if you walk along Montmany and Martínez de la Rosa streets.

The Cluedo of characters on shutters multiplies exponentially: we can see Amy Winehouse on Mozart street, Daenerys Targaryen at number 23 Bruniquer, Darth Vader and a few imperial soldiers in Torrijos, and the monster of Frankenstein himself on the shutter of Estudi Karloff.

In short, urban art makes our streets turn in more than one sense, and the city is never complete. Graffiti has not come to stay, only to alleviate certain shadows and anticipate new skills.