Contemporary Art in Context: AKACORLEONE

AKACORLEONE’s fantastic compositions embrace the contemporary diversity of street art, encouraging the public to take joy in the visual sensations and uplifting forms. Born Pedro Campiche to parents of Portuguese and Swiss descent, he operates out of his hometown in Lisbon, Portugal, one of the many international centers of street art. AKACORLEONE is best known for his lively, complex, and often humorous murals that combine figures, objects, and typography into eye-catching compositions. His works are characterized by his adept use of brilliant color and a strong sense of design. Campiche’s work also includes painting, installation, sculpture, printmaking, and clothing design.

Murals and Other Works
Campiche sees his approach to murals as a means of humanizing the urban environment. His exciting, colorful murals such as Look Up invite people to take their eyes off their phone screens and notice the beauty and color in the real world. Murals such as Obrigado (Portuguese for “thank you”) point to the artist’s grounding in graphic design, especially advertising art from the age of the poster “renaissance” in Switzerland, ca. 1900–1940, which Campiche says is a major influence on his work.

His admitted “obsession” with typography can be seen in his non-mural work such as Future Memories, a dynamic Op Art–inspired piece composed of ghostly, colorful vinyl letters mounted on clear acrylic sheets. The complex forms in his works always begin with a blank sketchbook page, notes, research, and subsequently, trial and error.

AKACORLEONE’s influences include the Op Art works of Carlos Cruz-Diez (1923–2019) and the brightly colored immersive installations of Katharina Grosse (b. 1961). One can also see the influences of artists from his Swiss heritage, including the graphic designs of Niklaus Stöcklin (1896–1982) and the hard-edge paintings of Max Bill (1908–1994).

Art History: Street Art
Contemporary street art stems from the Mexican Mural Movement of the 1920s and the African-American, Latinx, and Feminist mural movements that evolved in the 1960s and 1970s. An essential characteristic of these movements was educating the public about political, cultural, and social issues. Contemporary street art has a much broader narrative, which includes fantasy, abstraction, and freeform decoration, sometimes including specific social or political context.

About the Artist
Born in 1985 in Lisbon, AKACORLEONE was a “compulsive drawer” who began creating graffiti in the early 2000s. He received a degree in Graphic Design from IADE-Creative University (Lisbon) in 2007. Aside from his obsession with all things graphic and visual, the artist admits to being a “sneaker head,” toy collector, and of course, graffiti lover. He also runs an online store called Stepping Stone with his partner, artist Angela Ferreira, a.k.a. Kruella d’Enfer, which features branded tees and illustrated goods. AKACORLEONE works as a freelance illustrator. His work has been shown in more than fourteen countries.

ARTIST Q&A
What are some of the biggest influences on your work, including other artists, events, or things outside of the arts?
AKACORLEONE: I usually say I am a sponge, meaning that I try to get inspiration from everything that surrounds me, such as a strange sign on a shop, a conversation that sparks the curiosity about a specific subject, or even random thoughts. [These] can become the basis for an artwork. I am also influenced by my background in graffiti (what I call my first art school), and it still shows in my work and aesthetics. My work is also heavily influenced by comics, the Bauhaus movement, Art Deco, Constructivism, and Soviet era aesthetics. I try to find balance between the influence of art from the twentieth century and contemporary technology and aesthetics.

What is a typical workday like for you?
A: My workday is rarely typical in the sense that I work on so many projects at the same time; I can be painting a mural one day and working on a laser-cut plexi art piece the next day.

On a normal day I am to be at the studio, I try to sort emails and management work during the morning so I can focus on creative work during the afternoon, and night, if necessary, because if I feel the creativity flowing, I try not to stop it until I am satisfied or too tired.

Do you have specific strategies, rituals, or routines that help you work and/or generate ideas?
A: Whenever I have the chance, I try to escape from reality so I can focus and get immersed in a specific project. Ideally, I try to find a quiet location with no distractions so I can think freely and figure out new approaches or ideas, but because that is not possible to do all the time, I have to rely on other strategies such as going through old sketchbooks to discover forgotten ideas, or I do some heavy research on a subject and try to read a lot about it, forgetting almost everything else to focus on that.

Another useful technique is actually the opposite, where I try not to think about the project, focus on mundane stuff and sometimes it just pops up subconsciously while I am thinking about other stuff.

Tell us about one of the biggest moments in your career.
A: The first show I did with the Underdogs Gallery (see Resources) was definitely a turning point in my career. It was the first time I had a gallery encouraging my creativity and ambition, giving me the managing and financial support to develop pieces that were new and challenging for me and giving me the confidence to push myself out of my comfort zone, which is an essential part of my work nowadays. This was a special project also because it came during a moment after an unsuccessful solo show where I started to really question everything, from my career choices to my creative path, to my ability to expose myself to this painful process all over again.

Was it difficult switching from graphic design full-time to being an artist full-time?
A: I think what was really difficult for me was to be a full-time graphic designer. Although it gave me great foundations for my work, I was not good at it, and I felt miserable most of the time because I knew at heart this was not for me. The adaptation to a freelance illustrator was not hard because the environment and clients were the same. The decision to focus my energy to art and studio work was organic and simple, but it became scarier because it is more of a gamble financially.

DISCUSSION
Begin by showing students images of street art, including AKACORLEONE’s Look Up and Obrigado. Ask students to identify what kinds of buildings or neighborhoods were chosen as canvases for the artwork. What might they have in common? Discuss how mural artists usually create their designs for the specific place where they will be painted, sometimes adding or removing elements based on the architecture.

STUDIO EXPERIENCES

Create a cartoon, painting, or animation that illustrates some of the weird, wonderful, or amazing things someone might miss seeing because they are too busy with their phone.
Create an artwork that uses humor or unusual design choices to comment on an issue that is important to you. Can you get your message across using a few or no words?
Think of a building or neighborhood in your community that could use a makeover. See if you can find photos or a map of the buildings online. Design a mural that will beautify the building and bring positive attention to the neighborhood. Consider what colors and design elements might draw someone’s attention. Are there parts of the building such as windows or balconies that might affect your design?
Create a mixed-media artwork that uses layering techniques to create a complex design. What materials will you use, and how will they affect your use of layering?