Olmo Blanco: Instalodecoraciones

Olmo Blanco (b. 1982, Santiago de Compostela, Spain) is an artist interested in the transformation of everyday spaces and objects.

Using simple mark-making techniques – including drawing, scratching and painting – Blanco turns discarded objects such as petrol containers and disposable cups into ornate urns and goblets, and has given bare concrete floors and walls the appearance of extravagant embroidered carpets or tapestries. Each of these transformations of everyday objects and environments are brought about with marker pens, paint or found materials including dust, wax or chalk.

Blanco’s exuberant patterns have adorned the interiors and exteriors of both public and private buildings. The artist’s preference is for forgotten, neglected or transitional spaces such as car parks, toilets and hallways. For his exhibition in Concrete, Blanco has ‘restored’ the cafe’s adjacent toilets into a tiled palazzio, while the walls of the cafe are hung with a selection of the artist’s plates.

Blanco’s drawings resemble the patterned tiles that cover the streets and buildings of many Spanish and Portuguese towns and cities. As such, they can be seen as part of a long-standing Mediterranean tradition of architectural decoration. Rather than functioning simply as ornament or decoration, however, Blanco’s work also raises questions about consumption, excess and the hierarchical relationship between ‘art’ and ‘craft’.