Barcelona is known for many things – its art, culture, architecture, history, food and so much more. For me the city is all that, but Barcelona is also the city where I fell in love with graffiti and street art. I’ve seen gorgeous street art in other cities like Berlin, but it was always from a distance as a tourist. It’s so different when you’re living in a city and walking through beautiful lanes decorated with graffiti art on a daily basis. One of my favourite things to do in Barcelona is to take a different route home so I can discover new graffiti.
Barcelona is one of the top 10 (instragrammable) cities for graffiti worldwide, a list put together by Bombing Science in end of 2017.
Barcelona became an important hot spot for graffiti and street artists in the 1990s, attracting artists from all around the world. However, in the mid 2000s graffiti in public spaces was made illegal and a hefty €3000 fine levied for anyone caught in the act. While this didn’t deter artists, it paved the way for more stencils, paste ups and installations. Most of the street art is now seen on shop shutters which are privately owned (and thus not illegal), giving the artists time to create it.
To put together a list of favourite graffiti and street artists in the city from so many options prove harder than I expected. There are so many wonderful artists to choose from. And, I still don’t know many of them. I should also mention (if it isn’t already obvious) that I am not a graffiti expert, just an eager amateur. Do note that not all of these artists are from Barcelona, but have made it to my list simply because you see a lot of their art in the city.
So here are my favourite five street artists in Barcelona:
1. Bronik
Instagram handle: @bronikart
One of the first artists I discovered in the city. Originally from Peru, Bronik is now based in Barcelona. I love her style and the fact that her protagonist is always a woman. A lot of her art can be seen around the city, and her style is so distinctive it’s easy to spot her work.
2. Btoy
Instagram handle: @btoyandrea
Andrea Michaelson, professionally known as Btoy, is a Barcelona-born graffiti artist and is internationally acclaimed with her work shown in several galleries across the globe. Btoy’s stencils are beautifully detailed and often portray strong successful women. Her Amy Winehouse stencil is one of my favourites in the city.
3. El Xupet Negre
Instagram handle: @elxupetnegre
El Xupet Negre started painting his iconic black pacifiers in the late 1980s. Yes, he’s been around a while and has been a key figure in promoting Barcelona as a graffiti artists’ haven. His pacifiers can be spotted across the city. I was told that his pacifiers have evolved over time and are now more humanised.
4. Guaté Mao
Instagram handle: @guate.mao
French artist Guaté Mao last visited Barcelona in 2017 (please correct me if I’m wrong) and did a number of pieces of stencil art. He creates beautiful portraits of people. Really love his work, especially the eyes. The eyes of his portraits can peer into your soul.
5. Noriaki
Instagram handle: @noriakinoriaki
What can I say about Noriaki? What I like most about him is that he plays around with space. His protagonist is ‘The Watcher’ and his art is clever, funny and entertaining. It always brings a smile to my face. He is one of my favourite artists to follow on Instagram.
Bonus artist
Melata
Instagram handle: @me_lata
While this is technically a top 5 list, I have to include Melata (and his crew comprising his wife and daughter). Melata’s graffiti cans are seen everywhere – beautiful love messages in Catalan, Spanish and English. Some might say that it’s not great skilful art, but I love the love cans. I make it a point to read every can that I come across and love how pop art can be a medium for positive messaging to such a large number of people.
If you’re interested in seeing all this art, walking around in El Raval and the Gothic Area is a good start. If you want to learn the names and some more details you could consider doing a graffiti tour. I did a free walking tour with Barcelona Street Style Tour in El Raval which was very informative. They also have another walking tour in El Borne and a bike tour in Poble Nou which I plan to do once there are less tourists (Ah, the irony!). Do share who your favourite artists are in the comments sections. Would love to hear from you and maybe learn some new ones.
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All views expressed and recommendations are the author’s personal suggestions and the author has not received any compensation for it.
6 Comments
Samar Jha · June 20, 2018 at 4:17 pm
Yes there is a lot of graffiti art on private walls of Barcelona, but it takes a discerning eye to select the roses from among the thorns.
Your selection in the blog is an eye opener!
Shreya Jha · June 20, 2018 at 8:30 pm
You’re right. But most of the graffiti is beautiful and skilful, if only we spend time looking at it. Next time you visit Barcelona, we must go for a graffiti walk or two.
Somnath Jha · June 22, 2018 at 7:45 pm
Haven’t been to Barcelona yet … and you’ve tempted me enough! A beautifully crafted piece, Shreya!! Graffiti art has caught on in most parts of the world … I saw a lot of it in southern Spain, France and here in Vietnam too! Original (classical) graffiti has metamorphosed to what used to be called murals … or am I wrong!?
Shreya Jha · June 23, 2018 at 2:11 pm
You absolutely must visit Barcelona. It’s one of my favourite cities. Yes, graffiti and street art is seen all over the world. We have seen some of it emerging in India as well. There are a lot of different types and I am still not familiar with all. Murals, from what I understand, are typically art done on walls and are often commissioned as opposed to graffiti which is not.
Sushmita Jha · June 24, 2018 at 6:44 am
Wonderful, rich blog! And the piece on graffiti is my introduction to this form of art. I have seen several in many parts of the world, but have not really done any focused graffiti-watching – not even in my 2.5 days in Barcelona. You inspire me to! Well done and keep them coming!
Shreya Jha · June 25, 2018 at 10:57 am
Thank you 🙂 Street art for me is a new love as well. And I haven’t yet properly understood all graffiti (writing on the wall). But for art loving people like us, it’s amazing how much talent there is. And how popular a lot of these artists are.