Fafa - (ES)

Fafa is my pseudonym, I am a street artist and painter  called Rafael Marquez from Spain. I was born in 1977 in Irun, Basque Country,

but I grew up in Seville. I am currently based in Switzerland.

I started painting graffiti in the city of Seville when I was studing art at the university in year 98, but I have painted much before that, since my childhood. I have always been a painter and the passion for painting is the most important part of my life. As a great fan of hip hop culture in the 90‘s, I found graffiti to be a perfect outlet for my creativity, and a way to be part of the culture myself. Since then my works are strongly connected to both, studio and street.

When I went to art school in Seville, learning about old masters helped me shape my artistic practice. My favorite artist is Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla. I like creating colorful works both outside and in my studio, on canvas or paper, using various techniques and tools, such as brushes, acyrilic paint, oil. However, I avoid mixing different techniques. About in 2010 I started to stop using spray cans to be able to transport ideas to both worlds doing a paralel progress in technik and concept. I search for everyday moments and reflections from life in my motives. There is no limitation in the size of my paintings, I feel confortable in every format. That‘s why I was able to realize huge paintings in a relative short time in the last years, as for example the 24 meters tall painting in Attiholz, so like in the Bienalle from Plattern, both in Switzerland. My concept is simple, I try to aloud the viewers to find their own questions, for that I work with simple ideas putting themselves inside the scenario as first person involved and participating from this intimacy.