OsGemeos (1974)
OSGEMEOS are the Brazilian artists Gustavo and Otávio Pandolfo, born on March 29, 1974, internationally recognized for their singular artistic production, marked by a vibrant, dreamlike and innovative aesthetic that combines Brazilian folklore with contemporary urban art. Since childhood, the brothers showed an exceptional talent for creating and transforming fictional universes. At the age of three, they began drawing incessantly, sharing themes and ideas in a family environment that valued art, encouraged by their brother Arnaldo, their mother Margarida and the whole family.
OSGEMEOS trained in communication design at the Escola Técnica Estadual Carlos de Campos, in São Paulo, where they acquired a solid technical foundation that contributed to the development of their visual language and their trajectory in Brazilian contemporary art.
OSGEMEOS first came into contact with hip hop culture in 1986, at the age of 12, establishing a deep connection with street art. They began painting graffiti in the late 1980s and, from 1990 on, stepped up their activity on the streets of the Cambuci neighborhood, where they grew up. Using improvised materials, such as car paint and deodorant sprays, they experimented freely until they consolidated a visual language of their own, influenced by American hip hop and Brazilian pichação, becoming one of the main references of Brazilian graffiti.
OSGEMEOS were also break dancers in this early phase, broadening their involvement with the hip hop movement and developing a multidisciplinary view of urban culture. In the early 2000s, they took part in mural projects at train and subway stations in São Paulo, including painting an entire train, a rare feat in Brazil and representative of the boldness of their artistic practice.
OSGEMEOS consolidated their artistic identity with the creation of the fictional people of Tritrez, yellow beings that inhabit a dreamlike universe marked by magic, social criticism and visual poetry. These characters became the duo's signature, symbolizing the balance between fantasy and reality through compositions that mix surreal architecture, psychedelic patterns, elements of Brazilian culture and everyday scenes.
OSGEMEOS explore themes that span the popular imagination, Brazilian folklore, family portraits, social issues and political reflections, translating individual and collective experiences of urban life in Brazil.
OSGEMEOS reached an important milestone in 1993, when the visit to Brazil of the American artist Barry McGee (Twist) significantly influenced their path, introducing new visual references and technical possibilities. In 1995, they held their first exhibition at the Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS), in São Paulo, and by 1996 they were already taking part in shows in alternative spaces in Vila Madalena, contributing to the consolidation of São Paulo's graffiti and urban art scene.
OSGEMEOS began their international projection with an exhibition in Munich in 1996, strengthening their global presence in 2003 with their first solo show in the United States, at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco. In 2005, they joined the Deitch Projects gallery in New York, and in 2012 they presented their first institutional solo exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
OSGEMEOS expanded their practice beyond graffiti, developing sculptures, installations, panels and stage sets, always preserving the playful and poetic dimension of their work. In 2007, together with Nina Pandolfo and Nunca, they painted the facade of Kelburn Castle, in Scotland. The following year, they took part in the exhibition “Street Art” at Tate Modern, in London, alongside artists such as Faile, JR, Blu and Sixeart.
OSGEMEOS carried out the intervention on Keith Haring's mural in New York in 2008, receiving wide acclaim as a significant contemporary tribute to urban art. In 2014, they presented the exhibition “A Ópera da Lua” at Galeria Fortes Vilaça, and created the artwork for the Boeing 737 that carried the Brazilian national team during the World Cup, celebrating the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Brazilian people.
OSGEMEOS have taken part in major international exhibitions in recent years, including “Segredos” at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo (2020); “Portal” at Lehmann Maupin, New York (2020); “You Are My Guest” at the Fosun Foundation, Shanghai (2020); and “When the Leaves Turn to Yellow” at CAC Málaga, Spain (2022).
OSGEMEOS have works in important public and private collections, including MAM-SP, the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Tokyo Art Museum, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and the Franks-Suss Collection in London. In addition, their creations can be found on walls and in galleries, museums and cultural institutions in the United States, England, Germany, Greece, Cuba, Japan and many other countries.
OSGEMEOS continue to challenge the boundaries between the real and the imaginary, inviting the public to dive into a unique and recognizable visual universe. With authenticity, innovation and a strong Brazilian identity, the duo has established itself as one of the most influential names in international contemporary art. In 1997, the art dealer Paulo Figueiredo donated a significant group of works by OSGEMEOS to MAM-SP.
Curiosities
OSGEMEOS, the artistic name of the twin brothers Gustavo and Otávio Pandolfo, are graffiti artists from São Paulo, Brazil, whose works stand out for the striking yellow skin of their characters. Internationally recognized, they have conquered the global art scene with their unique style, which combines urban art and elements of Brazilian folklore. In 2007, they took part in the exhibition The Flowers in this Garden were Planted by my Grandparents, at the Museum Het Domein Sittard, in the Netherlands. The exhibition's illustrated catalog presents the duo's works alongside others, offering an intimate view of the creative process, with images of memorable moments and interactions with friends and strangers.
Another important milestone in OSGEMEOS's career was their participation in the WholeTrain Project, begun in 2002, which turns train cars into traveling canvases of urban art. In partnership with Fundação Vale, they painted the cars of the Carajás Railway, on the 892 km stretch between Parauapebas (PA) and São Luís (MA). The project not only brought urban art to communities along the railway, but also promoted art-education workshops for teachers and students in cities such as Marabá and Parauapebas, broadening access to culture.
OSGEMEOS held exhibitions resulting from the partnership with Fundação Vale, such as Fermata, at the Museu Vale, in Vitória (ES), between 2011 and 2012, and Vertigem, which came to São Paulo after Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro, bringing new works to the public of the Museu de Arte Brasileira at FAAP. In an interview with the portal Virgula, the artists discussed their influences, the importance of urban art and the controversy involving the pichadora Carolina Pivetta, convicted after her intervention at the 28th Bienal de São Paulo.
OSGEMEOS cite the influences of hip hop culture, the Cambuci neighborhood and Brazilian popular art at the beginning of their path. They have always seen graffiti as a tool for criticism and social transformation: “Our art is a tool to criticize, question and transform”. The OSGEMEOS universe includes the fictional world of Tritrez, populated by yellow characters who represent everyday life and often inhabit a parallel dimension with an orange sky and fireflies lighting up the night.
Besides projects such as Tritrez and the tour with the artist Slava Polunin, OSGEMEOS highlight their participation in Burning Man 2009, in Hawaii, and their meeting with Mark Bode as memorable moments of their career. Despite great international recognition, they maintain a critical view of the institutional space of art, stating that “what we do in galleries is not graffiti. Graffiti has to be on the street”.
OSGEMEOS comment on the graffiti scene in São Paulo, highlighting the support of the population even in the face of hostile policies by local governments. Recently, City Hall has taken measures to preserve urban art, although challenges such as the “gray truck”, which erases murals, still persist. As for the 28th Bienal de São Paulo, they criticize the exhibition, considering it empty and stating that the pichadores' action was “the only cool thing” about that edition.
OSGEMEOS highlight the international recognition of Brazilian street art, stating that competition is intense, but that Brazilian art is well received abroad when it is authentic, original and of high quality. For them, “to last, you really have to be good”.
OSGEMEOS reveal that the relationship between the brothers is one of deep symbiosis: “One twin is the other twin and vice versa”.
Interview with Bomb
Otávio and Gustavo Pandolfo, known as OSGEMEOS, are identical twins whose work may have struck you without your realizing it — perhaps in passing, in some corner of the world.
Graffiti and murals by the duo exist in many places: São Paulo (their hometown), Athens (where they created a mural for the 2004 Olympic Games), Berlin, Barcelona, Scotland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Coney Island and even Williamsburg.
They go beyond the traditional limits of street culture by making no distinction between outdoor and indoor walls. They feel as much at ease creating on the streets as producing works on wood or canvas for galleries. Their images draw on outsider art as well as Brazilian folklore and global hip hop culture, mixed with a mythology of their own. Their production is multifaceted — paintings, sculptures and installations — and it makes sense: their artistic practice is multiplied by two.
Did you study art? How did you start doing graffiti? Did any particular context lead you to intervene in public space; in other words, did you intend to engage in a form of social criticism?
We went to school through high school. We started studying art on our own when we were five. It was our way of playing in the street, our fun. Everything was intense and vibrant. Using public space was our way of engaging, directly or indirectly, with people. The mere fact of intervening in that space was already a criticism — it meant changing something. Nobody needed to tell us what to do, when or where.
It's that old story: if you don't use the street, it will end up using you. In Brazil, there are many things that need to be said and exposed: violence, corruption, lack of security... Little is done to change that. It seems people settle in, run away or pretend not to see. Intervening was our way of speaking.
There is a great tradition of mural painting throughout Latin America. Can you tell us about the iconography you use, the representations of Brazilian folklore in your images? How did you arrive at your vision?
Brazil is a country not yet fully discovered. Even today it is plundered, used, sold. Amid thousands of problems, the people have learned to be happy, to improvise. A serious problem can turn into a joke, and a joke can turn into a problem.
We live on improvisation. So does art. Brazil is a great mix — of races, cultures, beliefs, foods, music, stories. It is as if there were many worlds inside a single country. All of this is reflected in our work.
In many of your paintings, instead of the great heroic figures of traditional murals, we find somewhat diminished male figures. Why?
It's like a diary: before going to sleep, you write down what you felt, what you lived, and keep it under your pillow. Then you decide to show it to the world. Our painting is like that diary.
We live as if in a game: laughing while wanting to cry, crying while wanting to laugh, screaming in silence, listening to the invisible. Painting is a way of interpreting all of this — it can have a thousand meanings, and that gives us freedom.
We discovered that our diary was made of paint, sculpture, construction.
Do you read comics? Your images bring them to mind, although they also relate to vernacular culture.
We have thousands of influences. Every second we are absorbing something: a smell, a sound, a taste, an image.
One day, while we were in the studio, we saw a light approaching through the window. My brother took my hand and said: “Let's go”. We opened the window and saw a path. We knew we had to follow it — without fear.
When you believe you can fly, you fly.
As Vik Muniz said about your work, in its displacement it challenges notions of what street and art mean. It seems to spring from an intense interplay between high and popular culture, as well as from a need to bridge perceptions of culture, class and aesthetic value. You seem as much at ease on the street as in the commercial gallery circuit. Has there ever been any debate around your showing paintings in galleries? Are you still doing graffiti?
We had the chance to see both sides and reflect on it. We learned not to fool ourselves — neither with praise nor with fame. We seek balance.
For a long time, our graffiti was among people — poor, rich, sad, happy, distracted. Sometimes they noticed, sometimes they walked right past. Entering contemporary art was fun. Our first show was at Deitch Projects, in New York. Then, in Brazil, at Galeria Fortes Vilaça. People of all classes came, children, curious passers-by.
It was important to live this experience from up close and from afar. But we know how to keep things separate. The street is one universe; the gallery is another. It's like diving without oxygen — you see a new world down there, but you have to come back up to breathe another world up here.
We have many ideas and we are discovering new forms of expression.
Vik observed that there is a perfect communion between the two of you. What does each of you contribute to the creative process? Do you think differently? Do you ever want to work on your own?
Each of us has our own privacy, tastes and ways of doing things. But when it comes to OSGEMEOS, we are a single person.
We created a parallel world, and living in it is completely natural for us. We are in tune 24 hours a day.
Interview with TPM Magazine
By Cirilo Dias
While the mayor of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab, insists on erasing the city's graffiti with gray paint, the graffiti artists Otávio and Gustavo Pandolfo, known as Os Gêmeos, arrive in Madrid to open another exhibition. Sonhei que tinha sonhado (I Dreamed That I Had Dreamed) features their famous yellow-faced characters painted on doors, cupboards, kitchen utensils and some multimedia installations. From Barcelona, by phone, Gustavo Pandolfo spoke with TPM.
How did the idea for this exhibition come about?
The idea came from an invitation from the gallery Pilar Parra & Romero. They knew our work through Galeria Fortes Vilaça (São Paulo) and Deitch Projects (New York). They wanted to hold an exhibition of ours in Spain, and the timing was perfect, since it coincided with Madrid's International Contemporary Art Fair (ARCO). It was a great opportunity, because besides our solo exhibition, there was also the Fortes Vilaça booth at ARCO.
And where did the inspiration come from?
The theme of the exhibition was inspired by a line from the song Sonhei que Tinha Sonhado, by Siba (Siba e a Fuloresta). We had already been working together for some time, we did the artwork for his latest album, so this partnership was a natural starting point.
And what was it like drawing on furniture and organs?
Lately we had been experimenting more with the three-dimensional in our works, and with elements related to music. We don't play instruments, but we really like experimental music, such as the work of Siba e a Fuloresta, which has strong roots in Brazil, that improvised quality. Our work is also influenced by this. In the installation O Músico (The Musician), people could play the organ, which was connected to the speakers, creating a direct interaction with the work.
And how was the exhibition received?
Extremely well. We set everything up on Saturday and, although the exhibition was due to open on Tuesday, by Saturday all the pieces had already been sold. As the exhibition coincided with ARCO, several international art collectors contacted the gallery and bought the works.
Is it expected to come to Brazil?
Not for now. Part of this exhibition came from the Het Domein museum, in the Netherlands, and it would then have gone to New York if the pieces had not been sold. Since they were all bought, we will put together a new exhibition in New York in July. In Brazil, there are no plans for now.
And what do you think of the São Paulo City Hall's decision to clean graffiti off with gray paint?
We think it is very sad. Our work was born on the streets of São Paulo, and it was because of it that we were invited to exhibitions and recognized as artists. We do the same work in contemporary art galleries, which are respected, and our works are sold.
But in São Paulo this goes unnoticed. We work with one of the best galleries in Latin America, Fortes Vilaça, but City Hall doesn't care about that. The Earl of Glasgow asked us to make a work on a castle in Scotland, putting the Brazilian flag on top, a great tribute to our country, and Brazil itself does not recognize this as art. It's sad, isn't it? It reflects where we live.
In São Paulo, this happens because it reflects the way the city is run, by whoever governs it. It is hard to fight against that. We have always done conscious work on the streets, without harming anyone, with the intention of beautifying the city, of giving it art and culture as a gift. But now there is this stupidity of erasing everything and painting everything gray.
Is there any solution that would please both City Hall and graffiti artists?
I believe São Paulo should be as it always was. There should be no repression of this kind of art, because there are many other, more important problems for City Hall to worry about. They are spending money, labor and time erasing a work of art. They are erasing the dream of someone who comes from the outskirts hoping that their work will be seen, as happened to us.
Solo Exhibitions
2004 Estação da Luz, São Paulo
2005 WaterMill, Robert Wilson Center, New York Nike Tour, Fire House, New York Milan, Paris National Stadium, Tokyo, Hong Kong, London Creative Time Project, Coney Island Cavaleiro Marginal (Marginal Knight), Deitch Project Gallery, New York
2006 O peixe que comia estrelas cadentes (The Fish That Ate Shooting Stars), Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo
2007 Desenho (Drawing), Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo As Flores deste Jardim meus Avós Plantaram (The Flowers in this Garden were Planted by my Grandparents), Museum Het Domein Sittard, Sittard, Netherlands
2008 Galeria Pilar Parra & Romero, Madrid Too Far Too Close, Deitch Project Gallery, New York Vertigem, Museu Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba
2009 Vertigem, CCBB Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro MAB Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo Group Exhibitions 1993 Galeria MIS, São Paulo
1998 Um minuto de silêncio (One Minute of Silence), FUNARTE, São Paulo
1999 Livin Large, Munich ISART, Munich
2000 Graffiti aus São Paulo Brasilien, Die Färberei, Munich Just write my name, Bremen, Germany Academie der Kunste, Berlin Agenda 21 project, Hildeshein, Germany Galerie Ecureuil, Niort, France Urban Discpline, Hamburg
2001 50 Years of the Bienal de São Paulo, Fundação Bienal, São Paulo Galerie du Jour Agnes B, Paris Mural Global, São Paulo Tokion Store, New York Urban Discipline
2001, Hamburg
2002 Area2010, Sydney, Australia Chromopolis, paneling in Athens Olympic Games, Athens, Greece Area2010, Sydney, Australia Chromopolis, paneling in Athens Olympic Games, Athens Global Grafitti Art, Anne Moerchen Galerie, Hamburg I don´t know, Die Faerberei Galerie, Munich Kanvas, Kassel, Germany Toleranci, Galerie Ecureuil, Niort, France Schlachthof Cultural Center, Wiesbaden, Germany Urban Dicipline, Hamburg
2003 Break, New Image Gallery, Los Angeles CubaBrasil, Regla, Havana, Piñar Del Rio, Cuba Pavil, Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco Break, New Image Gallery, Los Angeles, USA CubaBrasil, Regla, Havana, Piñar Del Rio, Cuba Pavil, Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, USA
2004 Beautiful Losers: Contemporary ArtStreet Culture, Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco Regellos, Halle2, Heidelberg, Germany Gra(ff)ite, Alhambra, United States Montana Shop, Barcelona, Urbis Museum, Manchester, England Beautiful Losers: Contemporary ArtStreet Culture, Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, USA Regellos, Halle2, Heidelberg, Germany Gra(ff)ite, Alhambra, USA Montana Shop, Barcelona, Spain Urbis Museum, Manchester, UK
2005 Beautiful Losers: Contemporary ArtStreet Culture, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, United States The Smell of the rain, Deitch Project in Miami Art Basel, Miami Beautiful Losers: Contemporary ArtStreet Culture, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, USA The Smell of the rain, Deitch Project in Miami Art Basel, Miami, USA 2006 9º Bienal de la Havana, Havana Beautiful Losers: Contemporary ArtStreet Culture, Triennale di Milano, Milan Paralela
2006, Parque do Ibirapuera, São Paulo 9º Bienal de la Havana, Havana, Cuba Beautiful Losers: Contemporary ArtStreet Culture, Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy Paralela 2006, Parque do Ibirapuera,São Paulo, Brazil
2007 Mundo Animal (Animal World), Escola São Paulo, São Paulo Wakin up Nights, de PuryLuxembourg, Zurich Kunsthalle Barmen, Von Der Heydt Museum Wuppertal, Germany Musée International des Arts Modestes (MIAM), Sète, France Mundo Animal (Animal World), Escola São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil Wakin up Nights, de PuryLuxembourg, Zurich, Switzerland Kunsthalle Barmen, Von Der Heydt Museum Wuppertal, Germany Musée International des Arts Modestes (MIAM), Sète, France
2008 Imaginary Realities, Max Wigram Gallery, London Salon National Des Beaux-Arts, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris When Lives Become Form: Creative Power from Brazil, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT), Imaginary Realities, Max Wigram Gallery, London, UK When Lives Become Form: Creative Power from Brazil, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT), Japan
2009 Nus [Nudes], Galeria Fortes Vilaça & Galeria Bergamin, São Paulo The Portrait Show, Durex Arte Contemporânea, Rio de Janeiro When Lives Become Form: Creative Power from Brazil, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan
