Pez Barcelona: “The power of a smile is very strong. It generates good feeling in people”

After filling the walls, barriers, and any smooth surface across all five continents with his fish and smiling figures, José Sabaté (Barcelona, 1976), artistically known as Pez Barcelona, has made his mark on a 40-meter wall surrounding the old Metalarte factory site in Sant Joan Despí, where Núñez i Navarro plans to build 80 homes (11 of them social housing and 7 transferred to the City Council), parking lots, storage rooms, and a communal swimming pool on the roof. This project is a continuation of a series of partnerships that the Group has been weaving with renowned artists from the Barcelona scene, such as Carles Roig, who created six 2-meter murals on the modernist dome of La Rotonda, which now decorate each of the six floors of the building, or the various artists and creators who have contributed from their specialties to the development of the distinctive identity of the REC hotel.

On this occasion, the mural by Pez is the first piece of art in an open space by Núñez i Navarro, which can be enjoyed by everyone until 2021, when the wall will be removed. To mark its debut, we have sneaked into the middle of his creative process to have a chat with him.

How did the need to do something considered by many to be a prank arise in you?

It was a progressive evolution. For me, graffiti was a weekend hobby. I was a computer engineer and worked for a bank. On my way to the office, I traveled by train and entertained myself by looking at the graffiti. From there, I began to study the spaces I could use for painting. I liked the train tracks because they were safe. There were only trains and rats. And besides, from the train, many people could see it.

When did you realize it was a way to make a living?

In 2002 I lost my job and, in hindsight, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I invested a little and created a t-shirt brand. A friend invited me to exhibit in his skateboard shop. I told him that my thing was painting murals on the street. And he suggested I paint canvases. So on my way home, I picked up all the wood I could find: doors, pieces of skateboards, and I started painting on those surfaces... It was all very symbolic, as I was bringing 'street art' into the gallery. Gradually, I began to be called to festivals and started traveling all over Spain. Right in the midst of that process, a global rise of the graffiti phenomenon was taking shape thanks to the vast spread of the Internet, which allowed me to sell t-shirts and make myself known in other countries.

What were your influences or sources of inspiration for drawing?

From a young age, I always really liked Akira Toriyama (Arale, Dragon Ball), Matt Groening (The Simpsons), and Jim Davis (Garfield), as well as the artist Keith Haring, who passed away in 1990. All of them created simple characters with a lot of strength. They were effective. All of them helped me to create PEZ, a positive character, who through a smile transmits positive vibes, good energy, which in turn generates good feedback.

How was the fish that gives you your name born?

One night, some friends nicknamed me PEZ, and I found it very amusing. Coming from a calligraphy background, I thought that the letters themselves didn't contribute anything. I tried to innovate. Graffiti is a very coded language, and I was looking for something more universal, easier to understand. The influence of the mentioned artists helped me create PEZ. It felt natural to do it and to feel the reaction of the people who told me that seeing it smile brightened their mornings.

Why do all your characters smile?

The power of a smile is very strong. It generates good feeling. Moreover, a smile brightens the street and enlivens abandoned areas. It also makes characters warmer, not so invasive.

What do your murals tell us?

More than telling, I like them to be open to interpretation. To play with my characters and let them be the ones to convey.

Do you create themed murals based on the location you are in?

I usually research the local culture and acknowledge or pay tribute to it in the mural. For example, in Sangüesa, Navarra, I included storks, because they are migratory birds that travel to Africa every year and always return to Sangüesa, and also 'cabezudos', as they are part of their culture.

How do you see urban art and graffiti in Barcelona nowadays?

Very well. There has been significant progress. Barcelona's artists are becoming increasingly recognized. We have established artists like Kenor, Zosen, and Sixe. At the end of 2005, there was a lot of repression in the city. Some survived but many left. Today, urban art is not sustainable without contemporary art. An urban artist has a very hard time getting ahead by painting in the streets. They need to exhibit and sell in galleries, and at that point, it stops being urban and becomes contemporary. The good thing is that we can do both.

Is it easy for someone starting now to get involved in the circuit of collaborations, exhibitions, and festivals?

Today it is very difficult to make it. The journey of an urban artist takes between 10 and 20 years. Nowadays, there are many of us who are established, so it's hard for someone starting out. On the other hand, distribution is much easier today. Because with the internet, it's easier to reach out.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently curating an Urban Art Festival in Bogotá. I am also exhibiting at the contemporary art fair BARCU in Bogotá and in November at the international fair in Shanghai. In addition to plastic arts, I am also working in Miami with a project from the MUSSA agency, in which we use new technologies and augmented reality, so you get two works: what you see on the wall and what you see through your phone or tablet. Another project I am collaborating on is with Graff Mapping, creating a video mapping that we will present at the Art Basel fair.

What have you tried to represent with this first collaboration with Núñez i Navarro?

I have tried to pay tribute to Barcelona. Núñez y Navarro wanted to represent Barcelona's architecture on their wall, and I had a pending tribute to my city and its greatness. It was a synergy that I liked. I have tried to capture modernism, Miró, Mariscal, Gaudí, and some emblematic elements like Botero's cat, Columbus, Tibidabo, Collserola, and Montserrat, as well as incorporating the local Torre de la Creu in Sant Joan Despí.

How did the agreement to collaborate come about?

Through the advertising agency CHARLÊS that works for Núñez y Navarro. I was interested in the project because we had a common goal and due to its scale, 40 meters that will remain until the completion of the work, 3 years. Also, I felt it as an acknowledgment that a large company like Núñez y Navarro would call me.