b. 1974, Brazil

OSGEMEOS Biography

OSGEMEOS is a collaborative project of the Brazilian identical twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo. Known primarily for their graffiti, OSGEMEOS also produce paintings, murals, sculpture, and installation and video art. Their creations blend a wide range of influences, from traditional Brazilian folklore to hip hop and youth culture.

Read More

Early Years

Otavio and Gustavo grew up in the working-class neighbourhood of Cambuci in São Paulo. The name OSGEMEOS derives from the Portuguese Os Gêmeos for 'The Twins'. The brothers recall how, as young children, drawing was the most effective way to communicate with each other and with their family, as well as being an instrument of play.

In the 1980s, they became fascinated with the burgeoning hip hop scene in Brazil. They first became involved with breakdancing before turning to graffiti in 1987.

OSGEMEOS Artworks

OSGEMEOS began pursuing graffiti and painting as a way of sharing their imaginative world with the public. Their dream-like creations range from family portraits to social and political commentaries. In order to invite the audience into their shared inner world, OSGEMEOS engage with a varied range of media: from painting and sculpture to installation and video art, with drawing remaining at the centre of each process.

Using bright colours and elaborate patterns, OSGEMEOS are best known for their long-limbed, yellow-skinned figures with thin outlines, enlarged heads, and simplified features. Through the use of the colour yellow, the character is a reference to a universal figure that defies race and culture. It is also a figure that represents the diverse population of Brazil. The yellow-skinned character, along with their other playful and often surreal motifs, can be found on all sorts of objects and in many locations and public settings.

Commissions

In 2008, OSGEMEOS were invited to create a large-scale work on the façade of the Tate Modern in London. OSGEMEOS exhibited on the façade alongside four other international street artists as part of the museum's 2008 exhibition Street Art, which is considered to be London's first major museum display of the genre.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, OSGEMEOS transformed the national football team's official Boeing 737 into a work of art by painting over the entire plane using 1,200 aerosol cans. The project, which took one week to complete, featured a group of characters who represented the ethnic and cultural diversity of Brazil. The artwork remained on the airplane for two years after the world cup, so that travellers could enjoy flying with a work of art.

For the Vancouver Biennale in 2014, the artists created Giants, a 360-degree, 21-metre-tall mural and their first ever in Canada. Their largest public mural to date, Giants was completed using spray paint on six gigantic silos that were part of a concrete plant on Vancouver's Granville Island. Each silo was painted to resemble a character. Together they were turned into six huge characters standing side by side, overlooking the area and the visitors.

Institutional Exhibitions

Apart from large public commissions, OSGEMEOS have also exhibited in the indoors spaces of museums and galleries across the world. Their immersive installation Lyrical (2018) at Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh combined murals and sculptures as well as folk objects from the brothers' private collection, inviting the audience into a mystical world of dreams, music, and motion.

The major exhibition Secrets (2021), held at São Paulo's Pinacoteca, consisted of more than 1000 objects, over 50 of which had never been publicly presented in Brazil. The exhibition showcased motifs and ideas dating from the early period of their artistic development, such as notebooks from their teenage years, to the iconic, large pieces of their established career.

Exhibitions

OSGEMEOS have exhibited extensively around the world. Their works are part of numerous public collections, including The Franks-Suss Collection, London; Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo; Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.

Solo exhibitions of OSGEMEOS' work have been organised by Museu Casa do Pontal, Rio de Janeiro (2015); Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2012); Berardo Collection Museum, Lisbon (2010); and Museum Het Domein, Sittard, Netherlands (2007).

Select group exhibitions include Everything you are I am not: Latin American contemporary art from the Tiroche DeLeon Collection, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City (2016); Apreensões e Objetos do Desejo: obras doadas pela Receita Federal ao MNBA, Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, Rio de Janeiro (2015); Gigantes por su propria naturaleza, Institut Valéncia d'Art Modern, Valencia (2011); and Art in the Streets, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2011).

Major public commissions include HangarBicocca, Milan (2016); Parallel Connection, Times Square Arts: Midnight Moment, New York (2015); Wynwood Walls, Miami (2009); Houston Street and Bowery Mural, New York (2009); and Creative Time Project, Coney Island (2005).

Website and Instagram

OSGEMEOS' website can be found here, and their Instagram here.

Ocula | 2022

OSGEMEOS
featured artworks

View 8 More
Father and Son by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork mixed media
OSGEMEOS Father and Son, 2023 Mixed media on mdf board with sequins
204 x 164 x 11 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
The dream traveler by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork painting, mixed media
OSGEMEOS The dream traveler, 2023 Mixed media on MDF board
204 x 164 x 11 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
A Linha do Tempo by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork painting, works on paper, sculpture
OSGEMEOS A Linha do Tempo, 2019 Acrylic and sequins on MDF
204 x 164 cm
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Contact Gallery
ACCODS I by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork sculpture
OSGEMEOS ACCODS I, 2019 Ceramic vases, acrylic, spray paint and coloured sand
145 x 56 x 56 cm
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Contact Gallery
Where we come from by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork sculpture
OSGEMEOS Where we come from, 2016 Yarn and fabric latch hook rug
53.3 x 71.1 x 1.3 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
You are my guest by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork mixed media
OSGEMEOS You are my guest, 2016 Mixed medium on wood
126 x 206 x 1.75 inches
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
Irie Voice by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork installation
OSGEMEOS Irie Voice, 2016 Media player, USB drive, bluetooth, amplifier, and mixed media on wood, sound
259.1 x 299.7 x 61 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
Um segredo do mar (Secret from the sea) by OSGEMEOS contemporary artwork mixed media
OSGEMEOS Um segredo do mar (Secret from the sea), 2015 Mixed media with sequins on wood doors
214.3 x 248.9 x 7 cm (incl frame)
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
View 8 More

OSGEMEOS
upcoming & recent
exhibitions

View 3 More
View 3 More

Represented by these
Ocula Member Galleries

Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel contemporary art gallery in São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Fortes D'Aloia & Gabriel Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Comporta
Lehmann Maupin contemporary art gallery in 501 West 24th Street, New York, United States
Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong, Beijing, London, New York, Seoul +1
View 3 More

OSGEMEOS in
Ocula Magazine

Learn more about the market for works
by OSGEMEOS.
Enquire for a confidential discussion. Enquire Now
Simon Fisher, Ocula CEO
Ocula Advisor
Simon Fisher
Christoper Taylor, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Christopher Taylor
Eva Fuchs, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Eva Fuchs
Rory Mitchell, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Rory Mitchell

OSGEMEOS in
Ocula Advisory

Ocula discover the best in contemporary art icon.
Follow OSGEMEOS
Stay ahead.
Receive updates on new artworks,
exhibitions and articles.
Your personal data is held in accordance with our privacy policy.
Follow
Do you have an Ocula account?
Ocula discover the best in contemporary art icon.
Get Access
Join Ocula to request price and availability of artworks, exhibition price lists and build a collection of favourite artists, galleries and artworks.
Do you have an Ocula account? Login
What best describes your interest in art?

Subscribe to our newsletter for upcoming exhibitions, available works, events and more.
By clicking Sign Up or Continue with Facebook or Google, you agree to Ocula's Terms & Conditions. Your personal data is held in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Thank you for joining us. Just one more thing...
Soon you will receive an email asking you to complete registration. If you do not receive it then you can check and edit the email address you entered.
Close
Thank you for joining us.
You can now request price and availability of artworks, exhibition price lists and build a collection of favourite artists, galleries and artworks.
Close
Welcome back to Ocula
Enter your email address and password below to login.
Reset Password
Enter your email address to receive a password reset link.
Reset Link Sent
We have sent you an email containing a link to reset your password. Simply click the link and enter your new password to complete this process.
Login