Two Perspectives, One Voice: Interview with PichiAvo

Recognized for their ability to merge painting and sculpture in urban environments, artist duo PichiAvo take an innovative approach to their artistic fusion. A balanced combination of classical art and the most contemporary urban artistic expression can be identified in their work. From the outset, they rejected artistic individuality, instead joining forces to create a truly unique body of work that speaks a distinctly urban language—both in the streets and in the studio.

PichiAvo studied fine arts and design and met through Valencia’s graffiti scene, initiating their creative partnership in 2007. From then on, they worked on developing joint projects and pursuing a style of their own. Today, what defines their practice is the fusion of graffiti and classical art. They work both outside and inside the studio, in painting, sculpture, and installation, embracing a wide and versatile range of artistic approaches.

How did you meet and ultimately decide to form a creative partnership?

We met painting graffiti in the streets many years ago. We had mutual friends and used to spend afternoons painting letters with spray cans; this was around 2004. From those sessions, one day we decided to create a small mural together, which we signed with our names, or better said, our aliases: Pichi and Avo. That’s how everything started.

Over time, we both studied fine arts and design, took part in many competitions, and kept painting murals in our city. Little by little, we developed our own visual language until, in 2014, we were invited to paint a large-scale wall in Belgium. That project marked the beginning of our international career.

I think the beauty of working as a duo is when each person's strengths complement the other. Is that the case for you?

Yes, absolutely. We believe one of the keys to working as a duo is precisely that complementarity. Even though we share a very similar artistic vision, each of us brings different sensitivities and ways of working into the creative process. Sometimes one of us can be more impulsive or intuitive, while the other takes a more analytical or technical approach.

Over the years, we’ve learned how to balance each other very well, and that makes the final result stronger and richer. In the end, we work as one voice built from two different perspectives.

What advice do you have for artists who want to collaborate with other artists?

The first thing is really getting to know the other artist, not only through their work, but also through their way of working, their personality, and their expectations. That’s what makes a collaboration meaningful and able to last over time. We also believe that a good collaboration should bring you something new and challenge you; it should motivate you to try different things and push you to evolve creatively.

And above all, it’s important to leave space for the other person. It’s not about imposing one vision, but about building something new together in a balanced way, where both parts have the same weight. When that happens, the collaboration stops being just a sum of two styles and becomes something completely different.

Over the years, we’ve been lucky to collaborate with artists such as Vhils, Julio Anaya Cabanding, and Add Fuel, and in every case, the most valuable part has been that exchange and mutual learning.

What is it about Greek culture and history that has continued to inspire your work?

We are very inspired by the search for perfection that was present in Classical Greece, that idea of excellence in the way things are made, balance, and constant reflection. We’re also attracted by the way knowledge and beauty were understood as deeply connected concepts.

And of course, Greek mythology plays a very important role in our work. It’s a huge visual and symbolic universe, full of stories that still feel very current today and allow us to reinterpret those narratives from a contemporary perspective.

What would you say was your most ambitious project to date? In what way(s) did it push the boundaries of your previous work? 

For us, the most ambitious project is the construction of PichiAvo itself as an artistic language. It’s difficult to point to a single artwork or intervention above the others because we understand our career as a continuous process of evolution.

Over the years, we’ve developed different lines of work, exploring many formats, materials, and spaces in order to represent our visual universe from multiple perspectives. In that sense, every project becomes a new challenge, not so much because of its scale, but because of how it pushes us to evolve, avoid repeating ourselves, and constantly search for new forms of expression. We understand our work as something always in movement, where innovation and experimentation are essential parts of the creative process. And that is, in the end, our biggest ambition: to keep growing without losing our essence. 

You're constantly evolving with new media. Are there materials you have wanted to experiment with that you haven't yet? 

Yes, definitely. We always want to continue researching and working with new materials. Lately we’ve been especially interested in materials that transform over time, react to their environment, or naturally degrade, because they introduce a constant sense of change into the artwork.

In fact, this year we had the opportunity to create our first large-scale installation proposal in public space through a Fallas project in Valencia, an experience that opened new possibilities for us both in terms of scale and concept.

Projects like that push us to keep exploring different paths. More than focusing on one specific material, what we really look for is keeping curiosity alive, continuing to learn, and enjoying the creative process.

What projects are coming up in the rest of 2026 and beyond that you're excited about? 

One of the projects we’re most excited about is our upcoming exhibition in Barcelona, where we’ll have complete creative freedom and will present new lines of work, including pieces made using fresco painting techniques.

We also recently presented a ceramic sculpture for the Bienal Internacional de Cerámica de Manises, a project that allowed us to learn and research traditional ceramic techniques and metallic luster methods together with specialized artisans.

In addition, we have several murals planned in Germany, France, and the United States during the rest of the year. The mural we recently completed in Athens has been especially important for us, as it was our first project in Greece and also introduced us to a new way of producing work, developing and financing the project independently together with an international team of patrons.

Looking ahead, we remain open to all kinds of projects around the world, as long as there is artistic rigor and a real intention to continue pushing the limits of creativity.