Dennis Schuster, the name behind the artistic pseudonym DXTR, is the new artist invited by the construction company Núñez y Navarro, NN Wallery. The internationally known artist paints the streets of Barcelona for the first time "to improve the environment of the neighbourhood", according to the organization.
DXTR is the first international artist to collaborate with NN Wallery. "For me it is an honour", highlighted the Berliner, who is excited and very grateful for the reception that his mural is having at the intersection between Calle València and Calle Rogent, in the center of the Clot neighborhood.
His mural proposal is inspired by the mythical series of illustrated books Where's Wally?, which for DXTR is an allegory of the frenetic activity of the Catalan capital. According to the Berliner, Barcelona is a city where "many things happen at the same time, the streets are full of people and activities". He wants to capture it this way on the construction wall that he began to paint last Tuesday and that will end on October 26.
DXTR, as an international artist, has collaborated with major brands such as Nike, Disney or Nickelodeon, but for him the priority is to be on the street and interact with the people who consume his works. "Street projects help bring urban art closer to all kinds of people, even those who are not used to consuming it or going to museums. The reactions, in general, are always very positive."
The artist will be working at the intersection of calle València and calle Rogent until next Wednesday to be able to share his creative process with the people of the neighbourhood. "The neighbors come over, observe, ask me things and appreciate my work," explains the artist.
Also, the muralist will promote interactivity on networks, since he has proposed a game for people from other areas of the city to approach the mural: the Berliner will paint stars in the form of a dodecahedron, in homage to the star of the tower of the Virgin María de la Sagrada Familia, and will hide them among the rest of the shapes and colors of the mural. His proposal is that people come closer and make an effort to distinguish the different elements. If someone finds a star, they will have to upload a photo on Instagram and then they will be entered into a raffle for a dinner at the Hotel Rec in Barcelona.
The NN Wallery project has already carried out 27 initiatives in the neighborhoods of Barcelona. Until now they have featured national artists such as Pez, Marina Capdevila, Sagar or Brosmind, whose mural can still be seen on Riera de Cassoles street, in the Gràcia neighbourhood. DXTR is the first international guest and according to Daniel Zafra, spokesperson for the NN Wallery project, it provides a more diverse view of Barcelona. In fact, he is the first artist to include elements of the city in his mural.
"The ephemerality of urban art is a very important part of the project", Zafra underlined. All the murals have been exposed until the building has been finished (a period between 3 and 4 years approximately). Afterwards, the art disappears to make way for construction.
The urban artist DXTR will be filling the Clot neighborhood with life until October 26. Thus, the Berlin illustrator, who has worked with major brands worldwide, will become one of the collaborators of the project by Núñez and Navarro, NN Wallery, an initiative that aims to improve the neighborhood environment during the building processes.
