Gustavo Oviedo

Gustavo Oviedo was born in Paris but grew up in France, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico before settling in Miami. Painting graffiti was a means to learn Miami, connect with other teenagers and have a common language that helped him adapt to a new, foreign culture. Oviedo eventually broke away from the clandestine world of graffiti and decided to explore a part of Miami that didn’t include abandoned buildings and construction sites—the Biscayne Bay. Symbiosis includes large paintings of loose sea-like forms, mixed media collages, and visual representations of otherworldliness devoid of human language or graffiti letters. His ocean discoveries of shipwrecks, corals, and found pieces of pollution give power to his creative output as he puts the spotlight on the recurring problem of mankind’s disrespect for this natural resource. Gustavo Oviedo: Symbiosis, on view from October 17 to November 14, 2020, curated by Museum of Graffiti Co-Founders Alan Ket and Allison Freidin.