Graffiti and Art: OSGEMEOS Opens the Doors of Their Studio

We visit the studio of the Brazilian creative duo who are icons in the worlds of graffiti and contemporary art

Brothers Gustavo and Otávio Pandolfo from São Paulo (Brazil) are known for their yellow characters. You will have seen them out there... Creatures from "Tritrez", their parallel universe, have taken over all kinds of formats and volumes: walls, silos, metro carriages, rubbish containers, giant inflatable dolls, musical instruments, cans, speakers, wrapping paper, bits of wood, fabric, castles... even a plane!

OSGEMEOS’ workshop is a temple. It’s full of their work, images, objects, records and memories. It’s all art! And they welcomed Domestika into this sacred setting to chat about their work and creative process.

Don’t miss it!

Symbiosis

Born and raised in Cambuci, a neighborhood in Southern São Paulo, the brothers developed a taste for artistic communication as kids. This strong artistic connection still unites them as they design their work together. They each complete the other’s drawings, in incredible creative symbiosis.

Creativity

If not drawing, Gustavo and Otávio work on other areas of their creative process, like practicing tags or lettering, listening to music and giving DJ performances. Yup, they scratch too! Their love of a good challenge keeps them on their toes. Many artists prefer outlining their designs before transferring them onto a large scale project like the side of a building. But OSGEMEOS love doing things the hard way: painting straight onto the wall.

Although the duo started out as street artists and still work outside, they have carved out a space for themselves in galleries and museums. Numerous solo and group exhibitions have been hosted by museums and galleries all over the world, in countries including: Australia, Chile, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States.

Their work has also been included in the permanent collections of the MAM (São Paulo Museum of Modern Art), the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and the Frank-Suss Collection in London.

OSGEMEOS: Secrets

In 2021, the duo inaugurated the OSGEMEOS: Secrets exhibition in the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, one of Brazil’s most important galleries. This exhibition provides an overview of their life, work and influences, and features over 1,100 exhibits including sculptures, paintings, photographs and drawings.

OSGEMEOS’ unique, original style has allowed them to work on a range of media, in a range of places, covering everything from a piece of wood to a plane, from the streets to élite galleries. For them, “Originality is the key.“

If you want learn more about street art, don’t miss our Domestika courses.

English version by @studiogaunt.

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