In little over a month the Spanish duo, Pichiavo have painted numerous murals – a number that you can just count on one hand. Most recently, on July 18, the pair completed a 25m high urban street art representation of Athena on the side of the Livensa Living Diagonal student residence in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona.
However, their version of the Greek deity was that of Pallas Athena who, typically shown wearing armour, a helmet and a spear, symbolises wisdom, protection and struggle, and was reportedly chosen by Pichiavo in order to showcase and empower the protective nature of the feminine spirit.
Curated by RebobinART and with a helping hand from Chan Macrew, the mural of Athena lends great insight into what inspires Pichiavo. Formed in 2007, Pichiavo is a collaboration between graffiti artists Pichi and Avo who, according to their bio, combined their classical studies and street experience in order to flee the egocentrism of graffiti and create their united vision of the world, what they refer to as Urbanmythology.
As stated in their bio, Pichiavo have infused a level of figurative detail in their work coupled with hints of surrealism drawn into a radiant explosion of spray paint – a style that has led them to participate in numerous national and international events.
Prior to their appearance in Barcelona, Pichiavo took part in a number of events including: the Grenoble Street Art Festival in France where they paid tribute to Poseidon; the Rexenera Festival in Carballo, Galicia, Spain; the Mural Festival in Montreal; and arguably the most notable effort came around mid June when Pichiavo collaborated with Portuguese artist, Vhils to paint a 3000 square-metre mural, one of the largest in the Northern hemisphere.