On the 16^th of June, 2023, Twisted Art Gallery in Antonio Banderas Square Puerto Banús opened its doors. Nearly 200 people celebrated the arrival of this contemporary art gallery and came to meet the owners and four of the incredible artists being exhibited.

New Art Gallery shines a light on international contemporary art!

During the invitation-only opening night, artists The Connor Brothers, Pure Evil, Opake and Tim Fishlock were on hand to discuss their pieces with attendees. Pure Evil hand finished his limited-edition exclusive collection of 25 pieces which he has created solely for the gallery. DJ Amando Gottafunker provided the entertainment and sponsors Robiza served their innovative Spanish wines to delight the guests.

Excitement was high to see works from internationally renowned artists which can’t be found elsewhere in Spain. The collection features exciting urban art, street art and pop art by top artists from Europe and America including Mr Brainwash, The Connor Brothers, Opake, Pure Evil, Sara Pope, Cecile Plaisance, SN, David Kracov, Kunst Met Een R, Tim Fishlock, Alec Monopoly and Gal Yosef.

Laura de Arce, Director General of Tourism from Marbella Town Hall officially opened the gallery and welcomed the arrival of this cultural hub to the area. She commented, “Congratulations on the launch of the gallery. I think this is very good news for Marbella."

Marbella and Puerto Banús are known to be destinations associated with excellence and events like these help us to maintain this reputation and combine it with culture. For us culture is very important and Marbella and Puerto Banús are working hard to increase the level of culture in the area, so I think it is very good for us to have you here.”

Gallery owners, and art collectors Dylan King and Kevin Simpson were delighted to see so many people come to their gallery and enjoy the art that they are so passionate about.

Kevin Simpson commented, “On behalf of all the team at Twisted Art Gallery we would like to thank Laura de Arce, Director General of Tourism of the Marbella Town Hall for coming to officially open our gallery and thank Oti Gª Díaz-Ambrona and everyone from the Foreign Residents Department and Marbella Town Hall as a whole for all their support with preparing for the launch."

Our aim is to create the hottest destination for contemporary art on the Costa del Sol, Spain where everyone is welcome.

We are so proud to bring urban and modern art from exciting international artists to Puerto Banús and look forward to becoming a hub for art and culture in this prestigious destination.”

Co-Founder Dylan King added, “Huge thanks to everyone who came to the opening of our new gallery. We have created a relaxed setting where art lovers can view and purchase cool urban art and unique works.

We look forward to welcoming residents and tourists to enjoy the collection. Everyone is welcome to come and learn more about these exciting artists. We will also be running regular events through the year, so encourage people to follow us on social media, or join our mailing list to be the first to know about our upcoming events.”

Twisted Art Gallery is located at Plaza Antonio Banderas 18, Puerto Banús, close to El Corte Ingles. It is now open to the public Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00 to 20.00.  

Find out more about the gallery at www.twisted-artgallery.com, on Facebook @twistedag or on Instagram @twisted.ag.

About the artists

Alec Monopoly

Originally from New York City, Alec Monopoly’s graffiti art can be seen in urban environments across the world, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Europe, Mexico, and Asia. Growing up in New York City with a classically trained painter as a mother, Monopoly considers himself a lifelong artist. Eschewing formal training for his pursuit of creating street art, Monopoly has established himself as one of the foremost artists of this genre. His unique style takes a light-hearted approach, rather than the typical grim slant of street art, differentiating him from his contemporaries and giving his art a relatable quality.

Using varied materials (including stencils, spray paint, epoxies, varnishes, and newspapers) Monopoly subversively depicts various icons of pop culture using cartoon illustrations as his own political commentary, and in the process has generated his own recognizable style of street art. Monopoly’s tableaux, done on city surfaces, newsprint, sheet music or canvas, his work typically depicts the mustachioed, top-hat-wearing, Monopoly board game character performing a variety of activities, from sprinting with a moneybag under one arm to spinning turntables as a DJ. In 2016, Swiss watch company TAG Heuer announced a collaboration with Monopoly at Miami Art Basel, naming him the company’s “art provocateur.” He created a mural, live and on red carpet for the 2013 film, “BELIEVE,” about Justin Bieber. Monopoly’s work has been purchased by Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke, Snoop Dogg, Seth Rogan, Adrien Brody, and Iggy Azalea, among other renowned collectors.

The Connor Brothers

The Connor Brothers have exhibited internationally across the world from London & New York to Dubai. Their work frequently appears at major auction houses and in the homes of Celebrities and Public Figures’ private collections. Their most popular series Pulp fiction has proven to be an enormous success and cemented their names in the Art industry.

Tim Fishlock

London-based artist Tim Fishlock creates bright typographic paintings inspired by our love/hate relationship with social media and uneasy alliance with modern technology. A graduate of Goldsmiths, he began his career making commercial art installations, moving on to high-profile projects including limited-edition print portfolio releases and a book made with Hollywood screenwriter Josh Weinstein. His current work sits well with his other pieces: intricate collages of repeating motifs and satisfyingly tactile sculptures of metallic ice creams.

Mr Brainwash

Mr Brainwash’s art celebrates positivity and the power of love. Combining pop art, street art and classical paintings, unique Mr. Brainwash prints or original artworks make spectacular additions to a contemporary art collection. His playful and subversive approach has won him a place amongst the top living artists based on auction sales of nearly $2.5million over 10 years, and his collaborators and collectors include Madonna, the Beckhams and Banksy.

Opake

Opake is a London based graffiti artist who has been practicing graffiti art since the age of 13. Over time, he has developed a distinct painting technique and combines both pop culture with elements of graffiti to create a new and exciting body of work. A key theme in his work is ‘insanity’, after having dealt with drug-induced psychosis himself. He plays with the infamous definition of ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results’, with the creative twist of subtly breaking the repetition of his characters, replicating his own story of overcoming addiction. 

Sara Pope

Contemporary artist Sara Pope is best known for her bold, seductive paintings of voluptuous lips. Taking inspiration from a successful career in the fashion industry as a shoe designer for brands such as Paul Smith, and also her work in magazines as a designer and art director, Sara aims to capture the sensuality and seductive power conveyed by the lips and mouth. Interested in questions of beauty, communication, and the notion of perfection, Sara uses the perspective of her commercial experience to explore these themes.

Pure Evil

Charles Uzzell-Edwards produces Pop-inspired prints and street art under the moniker Pure Evil. The U.K.-born and -based artist’s vibrant, stencilled, spray-paint figurations riff on distinctly American iconography such as the Statue of Liberty and on Andy Warhol subjects such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Elizabeth Taylor. Many of his portraits feature a signature splotch of paint, which drips like a tear just below the character’s eye. Pure Evil’s path to artmaking was long and varied. As the son of Welsh painter John Uzzell Edwards, he grew up in a creative household. After studying fashion and graphics in college, he worked as a clothing designer and recorded electronic music. Pure Evil finally arrived at street art while living in California, where he honed his practice across freeways and storefronts. The artist has since exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and elsewhere.

Banksy

Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation.

Cécile Plaisance

Cécile Plaisance's evocative career began with taking pictures of the one plastic playmate she admired and who was an integral part of the world of girls who dressed her and undressed her daily. 

Through her photographs, Cécile has established a connection between Barbie and today's women - while playing with her femininity. Beyond the myth of the woman as an object, the artist raises the idol of our collective childhood by supporting the challenges of today's women to defend their rights, their desires and their hard-won freedom. A nun's habit and a burka versus what is underneath suggest that behind one woman's outward appearance lies another. Cécile Plaisance's uses a lenticular development technique with superimposed images to expose what lies beneath. 

Gal Yosef

A self-taught prodigy in the field of 3D art and digital sculpting, Gal Yosef specializes in reimagined designs of well-loved cartoon characters. A curiosity and passion for painting and drawing inspired Yosef to begin experimenting with 3D design when he was just 12 years old. Gal Yosef's art continues to evolve in the style of his latest pieces, depicting a darker, avant-garde version of an imagined cartooniverse.

David Kracov

Kracov truly understands how to capture the hearts of the young and the old alike. Forever inspired by the ever-changing muse of pop culture, witty puns, and the amalgamation of vibrant colours, Kracov has left his unmistakable fingerprint on the world of contemporary art both as a sculptor and a painter.

SN

Artist SN truly believes that art is created to nourish the heart as well as the eye. The majority of his work is created using canvas, mixed media, charcoal, oil paints, and dried butterflies. For SN, if the subject speaks, the background becomes the melody and has the power to enhance the beauty of the subject.

Kunst Met Een R

‘Kunst Met Een R’ (Art With an R) delights international audiences with their comical take on familiar subjects. Every one of their amicable characters is hand-sculpted and arranged within their shadow boxes to depict whimsical yet intimate scenes inspired by commonplace affairs. Their artwork is a satirical conversation on popular culture, societal norms, and the direction that consumerism has taken over the last few decades.