A new chapter begins and today we will talk to you about a Spanish artist called Borondo. Ever heard his name?
Who is Borondo?
Gonzalo Borondo is one of the most promising Spanish artists at the moment. He was born in Castille and Leon, an Autonomous Community north of Madrid.
Some may say art runs through his veins, his father is a restorer of religious art and he, himself started drawing and creating art with very little age.
Where can we see Borondo’s street art in Madrid?
Even though Borondo is now a renowned international artist, we are lucky we can still appreciate his work in the following locations in Madrid:
- Plaza Mostenses, 13, 28015 Madrid
- Calle del Marqués de Viana, 61, 28039 Madrid
- Calle de Antonio Grilo, 8, 28015 Madrid
(please take in consideration that all pieces of Street Art can be subject to change or disappearance)
Where does he work at the moment?
This small town boy has become a big world man.
At age 13-14 he moved to Madrid and started experimenting with graffiti, but nowadays you can see his work not only in many galleries of the world but also in the streets of Honolulu, Kiev, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, among others.
What style does he have?
Borondo has had a very rich and mixed ride throughout his career.
As we mentioned before, he started doing graffiti tags, but the breaking point for him was when he met his mentor and teacher, Jose Garcia Herranz.
Mr. Herranz taught him a whole world of new techniques that he has incorporated into his work and even exported them to the streets in giant murals.
In the first months after his arrival in Madrid, he started experimenting with engraving figures through paint on glass surfaces.
Ever since he has been able to express with an amazing realism different faces of people using only a handful of materials.
The first faces he painted and put hop on the walls of the Spanish capital had something in common: they were all asleep and this was because put on the felt that the city does not have public spaces for relaxation or rest.
What topics does Borondo talk about on his work?
In Borondo’s artwork you will always find a constant interaction between psyche (faces), but mostly you will find an open interpretation of the relationship between the environment of the location of the piece and context of it and the piece itself.
Since his early work there was a lot of presence of the topic of sleeping, as being in a constant state of passivity to losing the cities in a special sense of the word.
Gonzalo wanted people to interact with his art through the cities, and more specifically, he wanted the people who really inhabit the cities in a tragicomic way to appreciate his art: the homeless people.
What’s Borondo’s take on art?
The cities have become 21st century museums and Gonzalo Borondo is actually one of the best samples of how you can start as a graffiti tagger or a graffiti artist and actually get a career in the Art world.
But don’t let this fool you!
This Spanish street art artist doesn’t want to become a product or anything that doesn’t reflect his art and overall he does not want to turn his art -making into a boring job.
Art in the streets vs. art galleries
As many other successful artists, Borondo reconciles his work in galleries and his work on the streets.
The galleries panorama allows him to experiment with different media that wouldn’t be able to experiment within street art but his constant research and evolution shows an incorporation of constant research in either side.
How does Borondo and other street art artists make money?
Street art artists can make a living off their art: they can get commissioned for specific pieces, sell paintings, prints, merchandising, either on their own or through art dealers.
Also most Street Art festivals pay their selection of artists for their work.
Our opinion about Borondo
The presence of Borondo and other artists who began as Graffiti artists in the art World is extremely important in a lot of ways.
Let’s be honest, historically the Art world seems to be a world hard to get in, and once you are in there is not right or wrong (remember Banksy’s prank in that auction).
For normal individuals like you and me, to be able to climb up the ladder and open the doors for new generations of people like them is very promising.
After all, we all have to pay our bills, and how better than doing what you love.
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