Art is Trash
Francisco de Pájaro · Barcelona · sculptures made from street rubbish
Art is Trash – also known as Francisco de Pájaro or El Arte es Basura – is a Spanish artist from Barcelona who proudly calls himself a labourer and a voice of the working class. At night he turns the rubbish he finds on the pavement into strange, funny characters and little «trash monsters», in Barcelona and also in London.
His pieces are ephemeral by design: they are usually cleared away the next morning. For him, art should not be taken too seriously – the name Art is Trash is a provocation, and a statement about what really matters.
On the market: The street pieces cannot be collected. Artevistas Gallery offers his paintings at about €1,200 to €13,310, sculptures from €120 to €1,800, a print (€225) and his book (€120) (2026).
Murals: His work lives mostly in ephemeral street sculptures. A mural in Menorca with a black horse and his «Art is Trash» slogan caused a stir and was removed for lacking permits. (source)
Fact sheet
| Born | 1970, Spain |
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| Lives in | Barcelona (since 2003; London 2002–03) |
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| Active since | 1990; «Art is Trash» since 2009 |
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| Works in | - – Drawings
- ✓ Canvases
- ✓ Murals
- ✓ Sculptures
- – Toys
- – Film
- – Furniture
- ✓ Books
- – Graphics
- ✓ Prints
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| Training | School of Applied Arts, Mérida (1993, left after 18 months) |
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| Galleries | Artevistas Gallery, Barcelona |
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| Previously with | – |
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| Collaborations | LISA Project, New York (2015); co-founder of Rotuletto (signage and decorative painting) |
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| Museums & institutions | – |
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| Collection acquisitions | – |
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| Awards & residencies | – |
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| Website | artistrash.es |
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| Instagram | @artistrash |
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✓ documented · – no information in the sources
Ashwan
Born 1971 in Liverpool · based in Barcelona · «a visual Tao of the Boom Bap sound»
Ashwan (born 1971 in Liverpool) is a Barcelona-based artist with a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He describes his work as «a visual Tao of the Boom Bap sound» – a visual translation of the classic hip-hop beat. He often turns discarded cardboard boxes into large mixed-media pieces encased in resin, and his cut-out text works quote rap lyrics. He also co-directs BienCuadrado, a gallery and studio space in the Gothic Quarter.
Music runs through his practice: alongside his visual work he releases a sound project on Bandcamp, Paper Knives and Dragonflies.
On the market: He is represented by Galerie Lesmeister in Germany and BienCuadrado in Barcelona, where he has shown solo exhibitions such as «Sample Culture».
Murals: No large murals: his focus is on studio works – cut-out text pieces that often quote rap lyrics. (source)
Fact sheet
| Born | 1971, Liverpool (UK) |
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| Lives in | Barcelona |
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| Active since | – |
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| Works in | - – Drawings
- ✓ Canvases
- – Murals
- ✓ Sculptures
- – Toys
- – Film
- – Furniture
- – Books
- – Graphics
- ✓ Music
- ✓ Letter reliefs
- ✓ Mixed media
|
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| Training | BA (Hons), Northumbria University, Newcastle; MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Galleries | Galerie Isabelle Lesmeister · BienCuadrado, Barcelona (co-owner) · Artevistas Gallery, Barcelona |
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| Previously with | Pearl Lam's Contrasts (China), 3Punts Galeria (Barcelona) |
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| Collaborations | Tate Liverpool, Refco Collection (Chicago); former hip-hop DJ and producer |
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| Museums & institutions | – |
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| Collection acquisitions | – |
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| Awards & residencies | – |
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| Website | ashwan.co.uk |
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| Instagram | @ashwanarts |
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✓ documented · – no information in the sources
Camil Escruela
Born 1990 in Barcelona · graffiti since 2004 · characters, comics, spray-can culture
Camil Escruela is a self-taught Barcelona artist who started in graffiti in 2004. He soon left classic lettering for a «logo graffiti»: a ghost with a mouth and eyes that became his signature. His characters come from the world of comics and illustration and show scenes around graffiti writers, their everyday lives and social issues.
He names Javier Mariscal, Pablo Picasso and the illustrator Pilarín Bayés as influences – and plays with them openly in works like his homages to Picasso, Miró, Matisse and Calder. Exhibitions include Montana Gallery (The Spray Game, 2022–23), the Adria Codina Gallery (2024), Street Art City in France (2025) and DesignerCon in Las Vegas (2025).
On the market: Artquemy Gallery in Barcelona lists his paintings at around €1,500 to €3,800 and smaller works from about €200 (2026); many pieces are marked sold.
Murals: Yes – including a mural against energy poverty (2016), a participatory mural with pupils of the Pau Vila school in L'Hospitalet (2018) and a shutter with an underwater scene in Carrer dels Canvis Nous, Ciutat Vella (2023). (source)
Fact sheet
| Born | 1990, Barcelona |
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| Lives in | Barcelona |
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| Active since | 2004 |
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| Works in | - ✓ Drawings
- ✓ Canvases
- ✓ Murals
- – Sculptures
- – Toys
- – Film
- – Furniture
- – Books
- – Graphics
- ✓ Objects
- ✓ Merchandise
|
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| Training | Self-taught |
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| Galleries | Artquemy Gallery, Barcelona · Canal Gallery |
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| Previously with | Gallery Contrast (2016–17), Montana Gallery (2018, 2022–23), Adria Codina (2024) |
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| Collaborations | Centro Porsche Barcelona (2018), Fundació Contorno Urbano (2019), Nau Bostik (2021), Adda Gallery Ibiza (2022), DesignerCon Las Vegas (2025) |
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| Museums & institutions | Street Art City, France (2025), Barcelona Art Street Museum (2026) |
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| Collection acquisitions | – |
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| Awards & residencies | – |
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| Website | Artquemy |
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| Instagram | @camilescruela |
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✓ documented · – no information in the sources
Carlos Spogo
Muralist and painter · studio in Badalona · exhibiting since 2006
Carlos Spogo is a painter and muralist working from his studio in Badalona, next to Barcelona. He paints walls across Spain and in several European countries and combines private commissions with work in public space.
His style is built on colour, geometric composition and visual synthesis with straight and curved lines. Since 2022 he has run Pintamos Mucho, a social art project with workshops for schools, foundations, town halls, care homes and organisations working with people at risk of exclusion.
On the market: Besides murals he makes studio works; for commissions and purchases he can be contacted through his website.
Murals: Yes, on a large scale: a 200-metre construction-fence mural around the former Siberia & Deslite ice factory at Avinguda Icària 199 in Poblenou (Wall Lab, 2020), plus walls across Spain and Europe. (source)
Fact sheet
| Born | 1980, Barcelona |
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| Lives in | Badalona (studio) |
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| Active since | 2006 (exhibitions) |
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| Works in | - ✓ Drawings
- ✓ Canvases
- ✓ Murals
- – Sculptures
- – Toys
- – Film
- – Furniture
- – Books
- – Graphics
- ✓ Workshops
|
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| Training | – |
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| Galleries | Artsper |
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| Previously with | – |
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| Collaborations | Rebobinart, Meridia Capital and Philarthropic (Wall Lab, 2020); B-Murals; founder of «Pintamos Mucho» (2022) |
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| Museums & institutions | – |
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| Collection acquisitions | – |
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| Awards & residencies | – |
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| Website | spogo.es |
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| Instagram | @spogo15 |
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✓ documented · – no information in the sources
Mark Rox
Born 1993 in Baltiysk, Russia · lives in Barcelona · graffiti, 3D illusions, the ARTonaut
Mark Rox (also known as pop.art.pov) grew up in Baltiysk in Russia's Kaliningrad region and has worked since 2008 in street art, graffiti, painting, digital art and 3D illusions. According to his gallery, more than 5,000 of his works exist, from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka and on to Barcelona, Amsterdam and Riyadh.
He founded the graffiti team «From the Heart» and the wall-painting company «Roxart», won the Russian graffiti contest «Chetrapromart» in 2016 and now lives in Barcelona. His best-known series is the ARTonaut, an astronaut figure that appears in paintings and sculptures.
On the market: He is a permanent artist at Artevistas Gallery in Barcelona, which lists his sculptures from €2,800 and large ARTonaut paintings at up to €50,000 (2026).
Murals: Yes: he founded the wall-painting company Roxart, works with large 3D illusions and, according to his gallery, has been art director of more than 20 entertainment museums worldwide. (source)
Fact sheet
| Born | 1993, Baltiysk (Kaliningrad region, Russia) |
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| Lives in | Barcelona |
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| Active since | 2008 |
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| Works in | - ✓ Drawings
- ✓ Canvases
- ✓ Murals
- ✓ Sculptures
- – Toys
- ✓ Film
- – Furniture
- – Books
- – Graphics
- ✓ Prints
- ✓ Digital art
|
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| Training | – |
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| Galleries | Artevistas Gallery, Barcelona |
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| Previously with | – |
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| Collaborations | Founder of the graffiti team «From the Heart» and the wall-painting company «Roxart»; art director of more than 20 entertainment museums |
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| Museums & institutions | – |
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| Collection acquisitions | – |
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| Awards & residencies | Winner of the Russian graffiti contest «Chetrapromart» (2016) |
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| Website | markrox.art |
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| Instagram | @pop.art.pov |
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✓ documented · – no information in the sources
Xavi Ceerre
Born 1988 in Alcoy · lives in Barcelona · painting between graffiti and abstraction
Xavi Ceerre, born in Alcoy in 1988, lives and works in Barcelona. His paintings and sculptures revolve around the wall as a symbol – building up and tearing down – and use techniques such as decalcomania, grattage and automatism, alongside basic materials like charcoal and newspaper.
He has had solo shows at Galeria Carles Taché in Barcelona (Houses Are Human, 2022; Todo es de color, 2023), at Herrero de Tejada in Madrid (New Singer Old Song, 2023) and at Juan Manuel Lumbreras in Bilbao, plus group shows from Amsterdam and Berlin to Denver. In 2023 he won the Art Nou / ART-O-RAMA award for best exhibition.
On the market: His work appears at art fairs such as Estampa and Urvanity in Madrid and Art-o-rama in Marseille (2024, with Taché Art Gallery).
Murals: His biography lists paintings and exhibitions rather than murals. In 2024 he took part in «Crits del Mur» at the Llotja de Sant Jordi in Alcoy, an exhibition on the history of graffiti and mural painting. (source)
Fact sheet
| Born | 1988, Alcoy |
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| Lives in | Barcelona |
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| Active since | 2013 (exhibitions) |
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| Works in | - ✓ Drawings
- ✓ Canvases
- – Murals
- ✓ Sculptures
- – Toys
- – Film
- – Furniture
- ✓ Books
- – Graphics
|
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| Training | – |
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| Galleries | Taché Art Gallery (Carles Taché), Barcelona · Herrero de Tejada, Madrid · Galería Juan Manuel Lumbreras, Bilbao · Saisho Art, Madrid · Artsy |
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| Previously with | Galerie Neuheisel (Saarbrücken, 2021), 33/45 Gallery (Barcelona) |
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| Collaborations | B-Murals, Urvanity Art, Estampa, Art-o-rama (Marseille), Piramidón Centre d'Art Contemporani |
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| Museums & institutions | IVAM CADA Alcoi (solo, 2022), Espai 13 – Fundació Joan Miró (2016), Tecla Sala (2017), Llotja de Sant Jordi, Alcoy (2024) |
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| Collection acquisitions | Industri.ART acquisitions, La Capella, Alcoy (2020) |
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| Awards & residencies | Art Nou / ART-O-RAMA best exhibition (2023), Cátedra de Arte Contemporáneo Antoni Miró (2024); residencies incl. Bilbaoarte (2018), Piramidón (2019), ZAWP (2020), Pouch Cove, Canada (2025) |
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| Website | xaviceerre.com |
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| Instagram | @xaviceerre |
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✓ documented · – no information in the sources