View allAll Photos Tagged expressivefigure
This exuberant mural by Os Gêmeos bursts off the brick wall with the dynamic energy of a 1980s block party. Captured in New York City and now exhibited photographically at the Hirshhorn Museum, the work showcases the signature yellow-skinned characters of the Brazilian street art duo, whose real names are Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo. Rendered with surreal proportions and animated postures, the figures convey both swagger and soul, embodying the essence of street culture across time and continents.
Each character in this scene feels like a personality plucked from a dance floor or subway car—one wears a “Frosty Freeze” cap in homage to the legendary breakdancer, another cradles a towering boombox, and all four groove with exaggerated limbs and flashy fits. Their elongated limbs, mismatched sneakers, and patterned clothing burst with storytelling detail. Os Gêmeos, deeply influenced by hip-hop and São Paulo’s vibrant graffiti scene, translate that rhythm into brushstrokes and spray paint, layering their pieces with cultural memory and a touch of magical realism.
Installed at street level in the heart of Manhattan, this mural was not simply painted—it was performed. Like many Os Gêmeos works, it was created in public view, inviting everyday New Yorkers to pause, watch, and connect with their surroundings through art. Even when removed from its original location and recontextualized inside a gallery or museum, it retains that participatory energy. You feel like you could walk right into the party.
The mural’s photographic display within Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection 1860–1960 serves as a bridge between eras, linking contemporary street art to historical revolutions in visual expression. Just as Impressionists broke away from academic painting and Dadaists disrupted norms with radical experimentation, Os Gêmeos push past the conventions of the white cube and challenge where art belongs—and who it’s for.
Bright, cheeky, and undeniably alive, this mural is more than a colorful wall: it’s a conversation. Between neighborhoods and nations, past and present, music and paint, Os Gêmeos use their twin telepathy to weave a visual rhythm that makes you stop, smile, and maybe even dance.
You’ll find works like this throughout their global portfolio—from the favelas of São Paulo to the walls of Berlin and Boston. But here, against a red-brick New York wall, their art pulses with a distinctly American bounce. It’s nostalgia wrapped in aerosol, memory painted in motion, a flash of joy with revolutionary undertones.
This photograph features “Poppin Joze”, a vivid mixed-media work by Brazilian street art legends OSGEMEOS, as exhibited at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Known for their instantly recognizable yellow-skinned figures, twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo infuse their work with a surreal, dreamlike energy that draws from Brazilian culture, hip-hop, graffiti, and personal memory.
In Poppin Joze, we meet a stylized family rendered in OSGEMEOS’s trademark style: elongated limbs, small eyes, patterned clothing, and a flat, matte yellow skin tone that’s intended to represent a “neutral” humanity. The central figure, Joze, sports a bold blue shirt with “POPPIN JOZE” printed across the chest, surrounded by family members who evoke both intimacy and tension. A baby is cradled at the mother’s hip, a girl picks her nose, and a revolver is playfully (yet ominously) pointed into the frame.
Though cartoonish at first glance, the work is rich in emotional and socio-political resonance. This is a domestic scene shaped by urban hardship and resilience — equal parts tenderness, chaos, and coded commentary. Household clutter, scribbled wall drawings, and worn clothing all add to the textured realism. The shelf in the background with bottles and cans, the tired flooring, and the stereo speaker tucked under a foot all speak to lived-in space — layered, imperfect, real.
Framed in a vibrant green box and photographed against the Hirshhorn’s distinctive lavender wall during a special exhibition, Poppin Joze reflects the museum’s commitment to showcasing cutting-edge global contemporary art. OSGEMEOS, who began their careers as graffiti writers in São Paulo, have since exhibited in major institutions worldwide — and here, their street-inspired visual language translates powerfully to the museum setting.
This photo captures the artwork in full color and context — documenting not just the piece itself, but how it breathes within the museum space. It stands at the intersection of street and fine art, personal and political, playful and profound.
The original fresco at the Louvre Museum is not so vivid. I shot with a vivid filter thus the difference. No flash or other color alterations were done.
The original fresco at the Louvre Museum is not so vivid. I shot with a vivid filter thus the difference. No flash or other color alterations were done.
The original fresco at the Louvre Museum is not so vivid. I shot with a vivid filter thus bringing out the color. No flash or other color alterations were done.
Expressive figure created with tempera sticks by Kingart
#figurepainting #figurative #expressivefigure #modernart #boldcolors #sketchbook #artjournal #portrait #temperapainting #temperasticks #gelatos #royaltalens #royaltalenssketchbook #visualjournal #kingartgelsticks #kingart
#surrealism #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #narrativepainting #illustration #visionaryart #intuitiveart #expressionism #expressiveart #pastels #mythicart #artoftheday #artsy #arte
This iconic painting, titled 'Liberty Leading the People' was created by the French artist Eugene Delacroix. It represents the July Revolution of 1830 in France, portraying Liberty, a personified figure, leading a diverse group of revolutionaries through a tumultuous battlefield. The painting captures the essence of the struggle for freedom and has become a symbol of liberty and the fight against oppression, displayed prominently in the Louvre Museum in Paris.