Artist Interviews 2023

Sav45  
By Julia Siedenburg



Sav45 is an exceptional street artist. His breathtaking work that concentrates on female subjects can mostly be found in his home country Spain. The vivid life-like portraits of goddesses tower over the town’s citizens as if they in a way protect them while also decorating and beautifying each wall with their presents.

I stumbled upon Sav’s work on one of my usual social media spirals and was immediately captivated. And I knew that I had to ask him to tell us ab it more about his work and his journey to becoming such an impressive artist. So, my dear readers, I hope you enjoy this little talk. I definitely did!





You create powerful murals as well as gorgeous mixed-media canvas pieces. What differentiates street art from painting in a studio? What does each make you feel?

I feel free when I ampainting in the streets, getting inspiration from the surroundings, nature, the city itself, and the people around me. When I paint in the studio, it's such a moment of immersion into myself, into my inner world, a kind of meditation.



Most of your beautifully crafted very realistic art portraits show women. Why is that?

I like to mix abstraction with realism, it gives a sense of harmony in work. Why is it so realistic? It's more a matter of technique. And why women? Because through female images I broadcast my personal idea of aesthetics. This is what I believe beauty looks like.



Are your subjects based on people that you know, you see on the street, or all built in your imagination?

It depends. I do not limit myself to the real world, it does not always contain what the imagination does.



Your murals can be found all over Europe. From Germany and Russia to multiple cities in Spain. Are your process and workflow different in every place? If so, please tell us why?

I was born in a small, I would say a tiny town in the north of Russia, where there were no museums or galleries, and the Internet was not available and developed as nowadays. As I remember I have been drawing since I was a little child. Thanks to graffiti I discovered a new world of unlimited imagination. Graffiti art had a great impact on me and my art. The first art I saw was graffiti on the streets of my hometown. It was the artwork of artists unknown to me, but I found amazing inspiration in those pictures. At the age of 10, my parents moved to Spain, where my life changed significantly, and it became possible for me to get in touch with many different arts.



What is your favorite place to paint and which is your favorite piece you have done?

I would say that all my works are my favorites, I dive completely into this creative process every time I create a work. But the key work for me was a mural that I created in Portugal. This is one of the biggest murals created.



Tell us a bit about your childhood and background. Did your love and talent for art show early on?

I was born in a small, I would say a tiny town in the north of Russia, where there were no museums or galleries, and the Internet was not available and developed as nowadays. As I remember I have been drawing since I was a little child. Thanks to graffiti I discovered a new world of unlimited imagination. Graffiti art had a great impact on me and my art. The first art I saw was graffiti on the streets of my hometown. It was the artwork of artists unknown to me, but I found amazing inspiration in those pictures. At the age of 10, my parents moved to Spain, where my life changed significantly, and it became possible for me to get in touch with much different art.



Which artists inspire you and why?

There are many of them, from my friends to artists unknown to me personally, who even in their usual creativity, and technique, find ways that take them to a new level of skill. And if we talk about famous artists, then one of them would definitely be Salvador Dali.



Street art has the power to spread messages, help movements grow, and especially start conversations about political topics. One good example is all the art that is surfacing in support of women in Iran. How do you think the world would be without that kind of street art?

Good question. In a world where there was no Internet or it was but with limited access, as in Iran, for example, it would not be possible to transmit some important information and draw attention to some social problem. Street art is also an amazing way to awaken a person, to give an opportunity to look at the world differently, from the perspective of another person, and sometimes to unite people.



You have been part of art shows and live painting events at L’Arcasa Galeria D’art in Spain and you have made a few collaboration pieces with different artists, some of them resulting in you painting on vehicles. Which collaboration would you like to do and what is your dream place to paint that mural at?

I've never been and painted in the USA. I have a lot of dream places, some of them are NYC, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. I would love to collaborate with some museums like MOMA, Whitney Museum, or Guggenheim in NYC.



What is next for you? What are your plans for the future?

My nearby plans will be a Vicar mural fest in the south of Spain in January 2023 and an exhibition in Brussels in February 2023. And then life will show.