What would happen if love and death met? Would death fall in love? Would love die? Conjugating the terms is a leap of faith. The same questions and the same suspension of disbelief provoke the blank canvas – large, on an easel – on which the Italian artist TvBoy is going to create a new work. The place: Casa Seat on a Tuesday night. The reason: opening of the Garage Takeover exhibition, collection of popular works by TvBoy, Cupra ambassador. Famous for its forbidden kisses such as that of Messi with Ronaldo, that of Pedro Sanchéz with Puigdemont or that of Trump and Pope Francis, TvBoy is ideal to, appropriately, celebrate the love of a youthful and carefree Valentine’s Day. Synonyms of the cars present in the room, courtesy of the house.
Doubts and nerves are as frothy as the tonics offered by the minibar. Youthful but not young women swirl around the canvas. Men, adolescents, young people with undaunted looks join and multiply. Paula, a cleaning employee, observes, attentive and stealthy, from a corner. The room, filled with popular works by the artist, leather seats, neon, velvet and metal, has become: an expectant auditorium.
Divided chatter due to the author’s absence elevated to fanaticism squared. TvBoy’s work fuses the provocation of Banksy with the picaresque of Keith Haring, resulting in urban art with Warhol-like pop overtones. Defined, in the language of contemporary artists, as Street Art Neo Pop.
A representative of the event comes on stage. Presents. Enter. After its inauguration at Milan’s Cupra Garage, urban art artist TvBoy’s exhibition, Garage Takeover, comes to Casa Seat. From February 12 to 24. The sound of silence is heard. The spotlights illuminate brightly. TvBoy appears. Applause. Much applause. Reverence. Micro pass. Italian smile. Dark Milanese-style glasses. Corporate t-shirt. The attendees, synchronized, in a quick and efficient gesture, one could almost say rehearsed, take out their phones. They record and observe.
Under the pseudonym TvBoy, Salvatore Benintende appreciates the presence of his fans and refuses to analyze his works. He does not intellectualize them, he feels them, he democratizes them, street and spray through. He clings to his works maintaining something of mystery, of, in his own words, poetry. He talks about environmentalism, justice and freedom, transversal elements in his works and in Cupra. Without further delay and always with a smile, somewhat nervous, he sets out to create a live piece.
Sentimental techno invades the silence of some attendees excited by the process. Will it be a provocation? A declaration? Salvatore, with determination and calm, intersperses sprays and shapes with harmony. The sounds of the blades intermingle with the “sprayazos.” Intense colors flood the white. They approach it rebelliously.
Red: intense and soft. The bud of a rose.
Green: constant dark. Leaves and thorns.
Flesh: shadows and reflections. Life and death.
Gray: consistent. A bare hand of flesh. Just bones.
Black: defining force. The line that gives shape.
A rose held by a corpse hand. Accompanying illustration: Love Forever. Dedicated to A. and M. signed TvBoy. It took 10 minutes. The magnetism of the piece is, like the perfume of the sprays dense in the environment, somewhat toxic. It causes a sensation.
The artist is applauded effusively. An elegant fervor. A snack is served. He disappears as quickly as the work is done. The wine glasses are filled. Red and white. A queue forms. Everyone wants a photo and a signature. Your signature confers value. All kinds of objects are presented to the artist: postcards, printed images, caps, t-shirts, bags. A blessing of amulets.
The queue is an assortment of celebration, commentary and debate. Marta, a jeweler, confirms that she loved the work. She doesn’t believe in eternal love. Elena, a TvBoy fan, declares herself surprised to have seen the process. She believes in eternal love. Pedro, dedicated to sales, says he loved the work but was somewhat disappointed to have seen the process. He prefers mystery. He doesn’t believe in Love Forever. Paula, a cleaning employee, declares herself a fan based on what happened. She only believes in the eternal love of parents to children. She claims to have a lot to tell about love.
TvBoy is kind and dedicated to his fans. Photo and signature. Signature and photo. When talking with the artist exhibited in museums such as the Moco Museum (Barcelona) or the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (Milan), we talked about his beginnings.
-Why did you start painting?-
-I started running away from the art academy. It seemed gray and suffocating to me. Everything very corseted. So I took to the streets. There were children, grandparents, women, men, something in motion. I needed to be heard and democratize my art. The street was a perfect gallery.
-And why do you continue painting today? –
-For the same reason. For freedom, so that everyone can see and feel it. I want my art to be accessible.
To conclude, the question of the day. “Yes, I believe in eternal love. If it is good, it can last a long time. So my answer is yes.” He believes in his work. Unreal visions that cause a sensation. A permanent snapshot that she declares with a martially executed yes: the sweetest of taboos. The canvas, now dressed in ideas, releases, rebellious and indomitable, a liberated silence.
