OSGEMEOS (b. 1974, São Paulo, Brazil), translated as “THETWINS”, Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, have worked together since birth. As children growing up in the streets of the traditional district of Cambuci (SP), they developed a distinct way of playing and communicating through artistic language. With the encouragement of their family, and the introduction of hip hop culture in Brazil in the 1980s, OSGEMEOS found a direct connection to their dynamic and magical world and a way to communicate with the public. Guided mainly by their willpower, together they explored with dedication and care the various techniques of painting, drawing and sculpture, and had the streets as their place of study.

They never stopped doing graffiti, but over the years, this universe created by the duo, with which they dream and get inspiration from, overtook the streets, becoming a language of its own with so many other influences and cultures, and it is constantly evolving.

They believe in the encounters and experiences that life offers are natural and delicate. Today, recognized and admired both nationally and internationally, the artists utilize this combined visual language, improvisation and a sense of playfulness to intuitively create a variety of projects worldwide.

OSGEMEOS

Brazilian

JR has the largest art gallery in the world. Thanks to his photographic collage technique, he exhibits his work free of charge on the walls of the whole world – attracting the attention of those who do not usually go to museums.

Originator of the 28 Millimeters Project which he started in and around Clichy-Montfermeil in 2004, continued in the Middle East with Face 2 Face (2007), in Brazil and Kenya for Women Are Heroes (2008-2011), the documentary for which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010 (Critics' Week).

JR has created "Infiltrating art". During his collage activities, the local communities take part in the act of artistic creation, with no stage separating actors from spectators. The anonymity of JR and the absence of any explanation accompanying his huge portraits leave him with a free space in which issues and actors, performers and passers-by meet, forming the essence of his work.

In 2011 he received the Ted Prize, giving him the opportunity to make a vow to change the world. He created Inside Out, an international participatory art project that allows people from around the world to receive a print of their portrait and then billboard it as support for an idea, a project, an action and share that experience.

In 2014, working with the New York City Ballet, he used the language of dance to tell his version of the riots in the Clichy-Montfermeil district. He created The Groves, a ballet and short film, the music for which was composed by Woodkid, Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams, and which was presented at the Tribeca Film Festival.

At the same time, JR worked in the abandoned hospital of Ellis Island, an important place in the history of immigration – and made the short film ELLIS, with Robert De Niro.

In 2016, JR was invited by the Louvre, whose pyramid he made disappear the with the help of an astonishing anamorphosis. The same year, during the Olympic Games in Rio, he created gigantic new sculptural installations throughout the city, to underline the beauty of the sporting gesture.