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Barcelonas Street Art Gallery

 

Introduction: Artevistas and the urban art impulse in Barcelona

Barcelona is a city where street art and urban interventions are part of its visual identity: from the colorful murals of Poblenou and Gràcia, to the subtle stencils and paste-ups in El Raval and the Gothic quarters. In that context, Artevistas operates as a kind of bridge between the “street,” which is spontaneous, ephemeral, and public, and the “gallery,” which is curated, interior, and often commercial.

Artevistas is a contemporary art gallery in Barcelona with a strong orientation toward street art, urban art, and experimental contemporary practices. It showcases works by emerging and established artists from Spain and internationally, across mediums like paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and—importantly—street art and related practices. Artevistas gallery+2Artevistas gallery+2

What makes Artevistas especially interesting is their positioning: they consciously give formal gallery space and legitimacy to artists and aesthetics born on the streets, while maintaining a direct connection to the urban and ephemeral nature of street art. Their curatorially hybrid identity—gallery + urban art promoter—gives them a distinctive role in Barcelona’s art scene.

Let’s explore their story, mission, programming, and how artists like Francisco de Pájaro / Art is Trash fit into this model.

History, locations, and institutional details

  • Foundation & mission
    Artevistas was founded with the goal of promoting contemporary urban & street art. Over time, the gallery has aimed to discover, support, and provide visibility to artists working in non-traditional media or with a more experimental ethos. urbaneez.art+2Artevistas gallery+2

  • Spaces
    The gallery has (at least) two physical venues in Barcelona: one in the Gothic Quarter (in the semi-covered passage Passatge del Crèdit) and another in the Born / Born area. Artevistas gallery+2urbaneez.art+2

  • Collections & scale
    The gallery’s catalog includes more than 50 Spanish and international artists, spanning various styles and genres (portrait, abstraction, street art, sculpture, photography, printmaking, etc.). Artevistas gallery+2urbaneez.art+2
    Their collection reportedly has over 1,000 original works. Tripadvisor

  • Operating hours and visitor access
    The Gòtic gallery is typically open Tuesday to Sunday (11:00–20:00) and closed on Mondays. Artevistas gallery+1

Given its location in the heart of Barcelona’s historic center—between Las Ramblas and the Plaça Sant Jaume—the gallery is well placed both for locals and tourists. urbaneez.art+2Nova Circle+2

The relevance of Artevistas for Barcelona

Why does Artevistas matter? What role does it play in Barcelona’s cultural fabric? Below I enumerate several key dimensions of its relevance.

1. Legitimizing urban and street art in formal settings

One of the perennial tensions in street art is the boundary between the “street” and the “gallery.” Street art is often ephemeral, public, and outside institutional frameworks. By hosting street artists in a gallery context, Artevistas helps to mediate between the legitimacy and infrastructure of formal art spaces and the spontaneous, “outsider” impulse of urban art. This helps broaden the notion of what “contemporary art” is in Barcelona and beyond.

For many street artists, being represented by a gallery means better visibility, protection, archival chances, and professional recognition. Artevistas thus plays a role in nurturing a sustainable pathway for street artists to reach collectors, institutions, and a wider public.

2. Platform for emerging and experimental voices

Artevistas emphasizes artists who are emergent or working in nonconventional modes. This opens space for voices and styles that might otherwise remain marginal. In a city with many established galleries and institutions, this diversity of voices helps keep the local art ecosystem vibrant and dynamic.

3. Anchoring culture in the historic urban fabric

By being located in parts of the old city (Gòtic, Born), Artevistas integrates modern, contemporary, and street art into the narrative of Barcelona’s architectural and cultural heritage. For instance, the Gòtic gallery is located in Passatge del Crèdit, a 19th-century semi-covered passage built between 1875 and 1879. streetartcities.com+2urbaneez.art+2

Additionally, Passatge del Crèdit is the same building in which the Catalan artist Joan Miró was born (in 1893). urbaneez.art+2Artevistas gallery+2 This layering of historical and contemporary art memory creates a symbolic continuity between past and present artistic impulses in the heart of Barcelona.

4. Cultural tourism, art walking, and integration with the urban landscape

Because the gallery is situated in tourist-dense yet culturally rich quarters, it becomes part of the walking routes of those exploring Barcelona’s art, architecture, and street life. Visitors interested in Picasso, medieval quarters, and Catalan architecture will often pass nearby, so the gallery can attract both dedicated art audiences and more casual cultural tourists.

Moreover, Barcelona already has an established street art tourism circuit (murals, alleys, guided tours). Artevistas complements that by giving indoor, curated access to what is often considered the “behind the scenes” of street art.

5. Local identity, resistance, and social commentary

Street art often carries with it social, political, and critical voices. Artevistas, by giving a platform to artists whose work engages with social critique, urban life, and marginal voices, reinforces Barcelona’s identity as a city of resistance, creativity, and social engagement. In a time where cities around the world face gentrification, commodification of art, and tourist pressures, maintaining spaces that allow critical voices is vital.

6. Supporting an art market and collector base for urban art

By bridging street art and the gallery circuit, Artevistas helps build the infrastructure for a local market (collectors, patrons, institutions) to appreciate and invest in urban art. Over time that can strengthen the viability of alternative art careers in Barcelona, reduce the risk of brain drain, and encourage more experimentation.

Francisco de Pájaro / Art is Trash and Artevistas

One of the standout artists in the Artevistas roster is Francisco de Pájaro, known by the moniker Art is Trash (or Art is Trash / El arte es basura). He is a permanent artist at Artevistas. Artevistas gallery+1

Who is Francisco de Pájaro (Art is Trash)?

Francisco de Pájaro is a Spanish street artist known for creating whimsical, ephemeral sculptures and compositions using found objects and urban refuse. His practice started around 2009, in Barcelona, when he began painting and installing artworks made of garbage or abandoned items, often at night, with a kind of guerrilla approach. Artevistas gallery+4Artevistas gallery+4Art Is Trash+4

He describes Art is Trash as an “anti-hero costume” he wears to intervene on urban objects, abandonments, and waste. The works are spontaneous, visceral, instinctive, intended to provoke reflection, humor, or critique. Wikipédia+3Artevistas gallery+3Artevistas gallery+3

Because his works are often ephemeral (e.g. removed by sanitation, cleaned by the city), they embody the fragile, transient nature of street art. Art Is Trash+2Wikipédia+2

His biography notes he used to do labor work and sees his art as a tool of expression, protest, and connection with social realities. Artevistas gallery+2Art Is Trash+2

In recent years, he has exhibited in various cities, including London, and his work has gained international recognition beyond immediate street interventions. Wikipédia+2Art Is Trash+2

Here is his gallery page in Artevistas: Art is Trash / Francisco de Pájaro on the Artevistas site.
(You can see works, descriptions, and more)
https://www.artevistas.eu/artist/art-is-trash-francisco-de-pajaro/

Also, his own site Art is Trash gives insight into his philosophy and practice: https://www.artistrash.es/.

Why inclusion of Art is Trash is significant

  • Embodiment of street ethos: His work is made from waste, reusing what the city discards. It carries an explicit connection to the street, material decay, and everyday urban life. Having him exhibited in a gallery underscores Artevistas’s commitment to the raw, street-born aesthetic.

  • Bridging ephemeral and permanent: Because much of his work is ephemeral, showing it inside gallery walls helps archive and preserve forms of expression that might otherwise vanish. It gives permanence (or semi-permanence) to art that is often transient.

  • Critical voice, social commentary: His work critiques consumption, urban waste, social invisibility, and the politics of public space. In a city like Barcelona (tourism, gentrification, inequality), his voice resonates strongly.

  • Recognition & legitimacy: His inclusion in Artevistas helps him reach art audiences beyond the street. It gives his practice a platform where collectors, curators, and institutions can engage with it in depth.

  • Symbolic continuity: Since Artevistas aims to situate street art within the broader narrative of contemporary art, including an artist like Art is Trash helps embody the gallery’s mission in a concrete, visible way.

Thus, Art is Trash is both a flagship example of the kind of boundary-crossing work Artevistas supports and an anchor for its identity.

Challenges, tensions, and prospects

While Artevistas plays a constructive role, it also navigates a set of tensions that are common to street-art–gallery hybrids. Some of these include:

  • Commercialization vs. authenticity: Turning street art into gallery objects risks sterilizing or commodifying its edge. The gallery must balance market pressures with respect for the artists’ autonomy and spirit.

  • Ephemerality vs preservation: Many street works are meant to vanish; curating them in a static space can alter their meaning.

  • Public vs private space: Street art is inherently public; relocating it indoors changes its audience, context, and accessibility.

  • Institutional incorporation: As street art becomes accepted in institutional settings, there is a risk of co-optation or dilution of its critical potential.

  • Sustainability: Maintaining such a gallery requires financial viability, institutional support, networking, and continuous innovation.

Going forward, Artevistas’s prospects depend on how well it continues to respond to evolving urban dynamics (e.g. changes in tourism, city regulation of street art, cultural policy), how daring its programming remains, and how well it nurtures emerging voices.

Conclusion

Artevistas is more than “just another gallery” in Barcelona. It occupies a liminal space between the street and the institution, giving form, visibility, and support to urban art in the heart of the city. Through its dual locations, its mission to amplify experimental voices, and its integration of artists like Francisco de Pájaro / Art is Trash, it helps Barcelona maintain a living, critical, and dynamic conversation around art in public life.

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