Os Gemeos in LA

Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, the twin brothers known as the art duo Os Gemeos (which means "the twins" in Portuguese) bring their exuberant, life-affirming vision to the Prism LA center for a new show that remains open until March 24th.

Called Miss You, the show follows and expands upon Os Gemeos' aesthetic of fully inhabiting whatever space in which they create. Their brilliantly colorful street art aesthetic, paired with engaging multimedia flourishes, elevates this new installation to kaleidoscopic heights. If you happen to be in Los Angeles, you should take some time to catch this playful show. As does all of Os Gemeos' work, it immerses the visitor into a dream-like arena where visuals appear like unconscious reveries, and recalls the fantastic worlds of the early Surrealists.

Hailing from Sao Paulo, the Pandolfo brothers got their start on that mega-city's myriad walls. I still remember some of their eye-popping murals that stood out graphically against the wide variety of graffiti and runic tags that characterize the unique street art of that city.

In the rarefied context of a gallery setting however, their work never loses its power; rather it seems to gain by way of allowing their imaginations to gain greater heights through the use of interesting materials, unusual juxtapositions, and the insertion of the atomized gallery-goers. The gallery setting could not be further away from the gritty temporality of the street, but in this case, it provides an exciting new environment for the brothers to develop their memorable vision.