Pejac facts for kids

Pejac is a Spanish artist famous for his paintings and outdoor murals. He often uses a special technique called trompe-l'œil, which is French for "trick the eye." This style makes his flat paintings look like they are three-dimensional.

Pejac's art is known for being clever and poetic. He often uses his work to make people think about important topics, like protecting the environment and how people treat each other. He can create detailed copies of famous paintings by artists like Claude Monet and Katsushika Hokusai. But he also creates simple, powerful images using just shadows and silhouettes.

Who is Pejac?

Pejac was born with the name Silvestre Santiago in Santander, Spain, in 1977. He loved art from a young age and went to college to study it. He studied fine art in several cities, including Salamanca and Barcelona in Spain, and Milan in Italy.

After his studies, he began creating art around the world. In 2015, he was part of the NuArt Festival in Norway. That same year, he traveled to Hong Kong and Tokyo to paint unique artworks on buildings. He also visited the Husn refugee camp in Jordan, where he created art by carefully scraping away paint from old walls to make silhouette pictures.

Pejac currently lives and works in Madrid, Spain.

Famous Exhibitions

An exhibition is a show where an artist displays their work for the public to see. Pejac has had several major solo exhibitions.

Law of the Weakest

Where: London, United Kingdom When: July 2016

In 2016, Pejac had his first big show in the United Kingdom called Law of the Weakest. Before the show opened, he created several surprising artworks on the streets of London. One piece was a drawing scratched onto a brand-new Jaguar car. Another was his version of the famous painting Starry Night by Van Gogh.

He also created a fun series called Downside Up. For this, he hung shoes over lampposts, but he placed them upside down to surprise people walking by. The main exhibition featured 35 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings that explored social and environmental topics.

A Forest

Where: Venice, Italy When: September 2017

This was a short, two-day pop-up show held in a very special place in Venice: a boatyard where traditional gondolas are still made by hand. The exhibition was called A Forest.

The art was part of his Redemption Series, where he used pressed wood panels to create his images. The art made people think about serious issues like deforestation (cutting down forests), pollution, and climate change. The show also included a large drawing on paper and a cool installation on the canal that seemed to bend reality.

Waterline

Where: Paris, France When: June 2018

For his show in Paris, Pejac turned an old boat, called a péniche, into a floating art gallery. The boat was docked on the Seine river, right next to the famous Notre-Dame cathedral.

Inside, he displayed 30 drawings made with charcoal and pencil. These drawings gave visitors a peek into his creative process and showed how he develops ideas for his bigger paintings and street art. During the show, he sold a special print called A Forest and donated all the money to the Foundation GoodPlanet, an organization that works to protect the environment.

Art in Public Spaces

Pejac is well-known for creating art on buildings and in public areas for everyone to see. Here are some of his famous outdoor works:

• Istanbul, Turkey (2014): Three murals called Lock, Poster, and Shutters.
• Stavanger, Norway (2015): A mural inspired by the famous painting The Scream.
• London, United Kingdom (2016): The Downside Up installation with shoes on lampposts.
• Amman, Jordan (2016): Several murals in the Al-Hussein Palestinian refugee camp, including Kite, Migration, and Throne.
• New York, USA (2018): Murals in Brooklyn and Manhattan, including Fossil and Inner Strength.
• Santander, Spain (2020): Three murals at a hospital to show support during the difficult time of social distancing. The murals were called Strength, Overcoming, and Carres.

See also

In Spanish: Pejac para niños