Pol Pintó (Barcelona, 1995) creates with unconventional objects. One example is cardboard, which he has painted with oil for his latest work, Untitled. Furthermore, he hasn't used a normal brush to impregnate the paper but has invented a tool with thick threads.
This young man from Barcelona's Guinardó neighborhood welcomes us to his studio located at the Centre d’Art Contemporani Piramidón, in La Pau, along with a dozen people with whom he previously shared a table at the traditional paella-gathering that this art center holds every Tuesday with one of the resident artists.
How would you define yourself?
As a painter, but also a graphic designer. I like the word graphic designer because it evokes the idea of a trade from the past, an old trade. Furthermore, I approach my work from a design perspective, because I project something from a rational point of view and avoid the idea of creativity, which doesn't interest me as much.
How did you start?
As a child, I drew, like all children do, but I didn't stop like most adults do. When I finished university, I entered the job market as a graphic designer, but I missed getting my hands dirty, improvising, not having clients, deadlines... Then I picked up graffiti and urban art again, which I had been doing as a teenager. I discovered that there were legal walls on the street thanks to a City Council platform called Wallspot, which no longer exists, which is a bit of a screw-up. You could go into factories and spend Sunday painting with friends, and I thought this could be more than a hobby.
Where have you exhibited?
Obviously, here at Piramidon. With the Art Nou festival, I exhibited at Escat Gallery, at the Museu del Disseny in a collective exhibition, at Vangar in Valencia, which is the gallery that represents me. Then, at Rubén Torres for the Setmana de l’Art de Catalunya and at the Fundació Carmen & Lluís Bassat. And now I will exhibit at Fran Reus in Mallorca and Gärna in Madrid.
Who do you admire?
I really like an artist called Eve Ashamed who does pencil lines, meaning they don't have continuity, and works with the idea of erasing and repainting. Sol LeWitt is also someone I really like, because as a designer he took the idea of contemporary art to the extreme by making manuals. He also did wall art, and in fact, I started painting thanks to his work.
What is the gallery of your dreams?
More than a gallery, I would say a museum, but I don't quite know how they work yet. There are galleries in Barcelona that are doing very well, such as Bombon Projects, Prats Nogueras Blanchard, Projecte Sd and also Ethall from L'Hospitalet.
