Txemy Basualto: “The Canary Islands gave me my identity, Barcelona gave me my profession.”
In 2018, we launched NN Wallery with the goal of transforming construction walls or shutters into showcases for everyone to enjoy, both locals and visitors; what could be seen as a limitation becomes a canvas that generates a positive impact. We have just added three new spaces on Buenaventura Muñoz street in Barcelona. And we want to share with you the project and the interview with its creator, an artist with international projection, friendly and creative, always in search of new challenges. And whose recent works have had a strong impact: Txemy Basualto (Chile-Canary Islands, 1981).
Three scenes, which herald connections between people, feature on each of the three shutters of the parking and the commercial premises located at 13 and 15 Buenaventura Muñoz street, next to the Arc de Triomf and the Parc de la Ciutadella.
Txemy's selection was advised by Xavi Franquesa (Il·lacions), curator of the permanent projects at #NNWallery, who decided to support the Canarian artist based in Barcelona. "He called me when I was about to finish another large-scale project that had left me exhausted", he comments on the offer. "The communication was smooth and there were no limitations. Franquesa understood my codes and 'my madness'". And it is that Txemy had no obstacles to express himself through his language and his conditions. "When you work with that freedom, everything is very good".
Once the date was agreed upon, all that was left was to find “the concept of the pieces”, which for the painter involved “creating a personal story that can coexist with the space, in this case with Buenaventura Muñoz street”. Having three shutters made this mural seem like a sort of altarpiece or canvas with which Txemy was able to establish “a visual thread connecting the three”. Being on the street, the technique used was to draw with spray paint. “It's the most agile for me and due to the metal support of the shutter, it's the most suitable and gives you a certain style, some codes that I use when I go out to paint freely”. A code that translated into the depiction of the three scenes that, now we know, communicate with the outside: “I make them to show languages. The communication of hands has always been very interesting to me. And, at a pictorial level, it's always a challenge to construct with hands”.
Thus, the hands make a visual journey through three panels on a busy central street with a lot of people passing by. "What I present are three moments of people passing by. It's not an image or a design that is fixed and has graphic continuity because they are not consecutive spaces, they are not connected. They are three moments in a place of passage."And all of this, with "a romantic touch, on a personal level, with the thread of life. People identify with the hands because they represent a bit of eternity.".As Txemy himself indicates, the work "is intended for people to see it calmly, to be able to enjoy each one of them at different times."Far from opting for a more conceptual work, Txemy decided "to think about the neighbor, the everyday, and to look for elements that would distract them. People stop because everyone identifies with hands."
Like every artist, Txemy also needs a source of inspiration which, in his case, comes from his own personal experiences. "No one has a linear life, especially when you dedicate yourself to painting. All of this makes you inquire about what's happening to you at the moment. Understood as a clear search for evolution at a technical level, of concepts. Your concept matures as you grow," he argues. And that maturity has generated a series of codes, experiences or events that have formed "a conceptual thread that is woven with each work and grows and makes more sense. It's a historical thread because the Txemy of 20 years ago is nothing like the current one in terms of technique, tools, or at a pictorial level". And what are those experiences? Well, from reading a book to living through a pandemic or, his main life change, having a daughter: "As a father, I changed my entire color palette, the intention. I realized that I wanted to paint something that she would like. That moment marked a before and after. My colors became more pastel, the stroke more cheerful. She is my main client", he claims before revealing a secret of the making of of the mural: "There was a part of a hand that I found aggressive and I changed it. One of the three pieces, the middle one, is toned down in height and intensity because it's meant for children. Children are very important, they stop to look naturally.
His pictorial evolution has occurred in parallel with that of Barcelona, a city where he has witnessed the prevailing trends of the 21st century so far. Not in vain, he arrived here in 2001 as a 20-year-old deeply rooted in his homeland: “The Canary Islands gave me my identity, what I like, who I am, my customs. Barcelona made me a man, it gave me my profession. Barcelona, its architecture, its color, its life…” And it is that, according to the man from Tenerife, when he arrived, “Barcelona was freer. It was an explosion of color and life. It was the world capital of graffiti at that time”. And he was clear that he wanted to make painting a way of life. The “boom” of street art that was in the city led him to develop his first street works with spray.
However, his extensive artistic training drives him to explore new, more mature languages that he no longer found on the street. Hence, he focused on his studio work, also for economic reasons. “On my canvas is where I am completely free and where people buy my speech, my concept, and my story” although not completely detaching from muralism or street art: “The street is for me an artistic escape for moments of freedom without pressure”
Although the transition from the street to the studio was not a bed of roses. “It took me about 6 years to get back on track”, he acknowledges, highlighting exhibitions like the one held at Casa Vicens, which gave him solidity, recognition, and increased interest in his projects. “Even though I've gone through times of crisis, I've always been committed to pushing, working, and searching. Even in that period, when the pictorial solution was not the most successful, people have continued to support me”.
Two decades after landing in Barcelona, Txemy has already established himself as a benchmark in the Barcelona artistic scene. “I am lucky that almost everything I do sells. I make a piece and it usually sells. I don't have time to have work stored”. He also currently has several projects, among which stands out an exhibition in a gallery in Rabat after a first project for the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rabat. “I am going to present a series of sculptures with music, painting, plus a sculpture in the street”, the painter announces. And he emphasizes that he is a fan of Eduardo Chillida, from whom he has adopted part of his work method: “I am very hands-on, I need to feel the material to build and that caught my attention”.
Painting, sculpture, music... His continuous exploration, combined with his mastery of art in general, has led him to merge different disciplines. "Music greatly affects me when I'm painting. One of my best friends is a composer and I've realized that influencing my painting with his musical work is very interesting, and vice versa". He describes them as communicating vessels, "creating a piece of music and a pictorial piece at the same time, connected". He first used this technique in 2022, at the Zaragoza History Center: "The musician had set up his set, with his speakers. And as he created his music, I painted". From that initial performance there has been a shift to a more measured approach: "He works in his studio and I in mine. He sends me a file via WhatsApp and I play it on the speakers". In this way, both are influenced during the creation and development phase. An artistic 2-for-1 that the lucky ones who acquire any of their works can enjoy.
For the rest of the people from Barcelona, we will always have the option to discover its cheerful stroke and its soft tones at 13-15 Buenaventura Muñoz Street. Although in this case, you'll have to bring the music from home.
We bid farewell to Txemy, convinced that our NN Wallery project continues to leave a mark of artistic quality in Barcelona. Each new intervention, and there are 29 of them, further consolidates its position as a pioneering benchmark in sustainability and demonstrates its contribution to the revitalization of the environment through urban art.
NN Wallery highlights the transformative, enriching, and questioning power of art in public spaces in a significant way. Offering an exclusive and enriching visual experience for all those who enjoy it, especially those who see it take shape at the hands of its artists. Each new intervention generates interaction and appreciation for contemporary culture in the City of Barcelona, which endures through the transformation that the mural undergoes over time.
