Décio Araújo and his mesmerising take on São Paulo

Décio Araújo is an architect and the author of some refreshing Instagram art. We say art, because his choice and manipulation of São Paulo images is absolutely dazzling. Geometry, symmetry, surrealism form the basis of his at times claustrophic, other times liberating, work.

He is, by trade, an architect, so as you might expect there are lots of images of buildings, façades and urban structures in general. But it is the way that Décio slices and dices them, interspersing animal forms as he goes, which really cathes the eye.

The output is a series of beautiful and abstract interpretations of a city otherwise not famed for its beauty or its visual inspiration. In this sense Décio is more than just a cool artist, he forces us to rethink São Paulo, even to rethink urbanism in general.

Be sure to catch all of his work on Istagram @dearaujo 

Street Art in São Paulo Part 11 - ALEX SENNA

Check out the amazing street art by Alex Senna, an artist and illustrator from São Paulo. His pieces are very distinctive and can be found all over the city. His work has become an integral part of this citys`character and urban image of São Paulo. 

Alex`s work has already been featured during exhibitions and in galleries from Miami, Toronto and New York to Paris, London and Berlin. Follow Alex on Instagram (@alexsenna) and check out his website www.alexsenna.com.br.

São Paulo Street Life

If you get a chance, go check out the work of Miguel Castello. The exposition called Memórias da Rua is going on right now at Estação da Luz. Miguel`s powerful photographs portray homeless people living in São Paulo. Admission is free, the expo runs until Nov 30th and is supported by the Fundação e Instituto Justiça Solidária.

Memórias da Rua Expo
Estação da Luz
Praça da Luz, 1
http://www.estacaodaluz.org.br

Miguel Castello on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/memoriasdarua

Street art of lamp post men carrying bins as backpacks

Lamp post men carrying bins as backpacks. It sounds weird but that is the latest street intervention to hit Vila Madalena, São Paulo.

The project was started up by Mentalgassi, a Berlin-based art collective, and Muntano a Brazilian street artist. It has bins being reimagined as rucksacks and a pasted on photo of the carrier going on the lamp post.

It is supposed to be a tribute to the catadores of São Paulo, unofficial wastecollectors who scour the streets for recyclable rubbish in order to earn a few cents per kilo through the recycling centres. The message is indirect but it is supposed to "increase the visibility" of catadores, as well as call "attention to purchases and donation bins for recyclable materials"

Here are a few photos of the new bins. It will most likely be a very ephemeral intervention so enjoy the while you can:

Hand-drawn iIllustrations of São Paulo and other cities around the world

Illustrator, Sam Brewster

Sam Brewster is a London-based freelance illustrator who studied at the Univeristy of Lincoln, UK and whose work has been featured in a range of galleries, magazines and publications.

He recently drew a set of beautiful coloured sketches of different cities around the world.

Each is an abstract vision full of colour and warmth. Have a look at São Paulo and other cities below:

São Paulo

Bangkok

Buenos Aires

London

New York

San Francisco

Seattle

Vienna

If you liked his work these prints can be bought in this online shop:

VIDEO: Wheatpasting in São Paulo

Wheatpaste.Doc is a 2012 Brazilian documentary about "wheatpasting", wheatpaste being a glue made of flour and water commonly used by informal advertisers and street artists alike to quickly attach large pieces of paper or posters to walls.



The documentary, “Cola de Farinha” follows various artists around São Paulo during a 20 minute introduction to the wheatpaste scene of São Paulo. Well worth a watch!

Victor Nunes; the artist who uses bits of real food in his drawings

Victor Nunes is a 63 year old, retired art director, from São Paulo, Brazil. Last year he opened a Facebook account and started posting sketches in which food and other household objects becoming part of his art.

He claims to draw every single day and he certainly updates his page with a lot of drawings.

Below are some examples of his light-hearted work:

Chocolate hats 

Playful scissors

Bread crumb hats

Coffee foam

Popcorn art

Lettuce as you've never seen it before

The versatile pen cap