PASTEL
Argentina
Far from conventional architecture, Francisco Diaz (b. 1986) a.k.a. Pastel understands street work as urban acupuncture.
For him, modern cities are full of "non-places" due to irregular and non-inclusive planning. In this way, the paintings can be like a new beginning for these places, working with local identity and not just another tool of social gentrification.
He tries to base all of his work on experiences. Always having as a starting point the space where he is creating, which can be a city, a rural space, an open space or a closed space, he tries, first of all, to understand the conditions that the environment offers and never imposes a concept already established for the space.
Working with symbolic elements such as arrows and local flora, the pieces trigger a dialogue about the nature of man and his surroundings. The existential, real, pure and tragic, almost forgotten in modern society.
