Artwork Description
25 Years Smiling Blotter Paper Archival Print by El Pez Limited Edition Fine Art Archival Pigment Print Art on Perforated Blotter Paper.
2024 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition of 50 Archival Pigment Print on Perforated Blotter Paper Size: 7.5 x 7.5 Inches Release: April 19, 2024 Limited blotter editions are hand-perforated by Zane Kesey.
25 Years Smiling by El Pez: A Celebration in Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork
El Pez, born Jose Sabate from Barcelona, Spain, has long been recognized for his infectious style rooted in optimism and color-drenched joy. With 25 Years Smiling, he marks a significant milestone in a career devoted to spreading happiness through his iconic smiling characters. This limited edition archival pigment print on perforated blotter paper, released in April 2024, captures the kinetic energy, cartoonish spontaneity, and explosive palette that define his unique place within the Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork world. The print features six of his most recognizable figures—wide-mouthed, eye-popping creatures rendered in bold red, blue, yellow, orange, and green—radiating enthusiasm and interlocking in a mosaic of celebration.
The Visual Language of Joy and Motion
El Pez’s signature character, instantly recognizable for its toothy grin and cyclopean eye, is not just a stylistic invention. It is a symbol of joy that has evolved through years of global street interventions and murals across cities like Amsterdam, Miami, Bogota, and Paris. In 25 Years Smiling, the layout of the artwork resembles a visual carnival of interconnected beings. The piece balances chaos and harmony with overlapping limbs, dancing outlines, and directional arrows that reference motion and energy. The background bathes the entire composition in gradient shades of sky blue, reinforcing the feeling of upliftment and endless possibility. The small detail of a heart over a bicycle in the lower quadrant adds a personal, almost childlike, charm to the piece—a touch that reflects the artist’s unwavering commitment to positivity.
Blotter Paper and Contemporary Street Pop Art Practice
Printed on perforated blotter paper and hand-perforated by Zane Kesey, the print not only embraces psychedelic cultural references but merges that aesthetic with the cartoon sensibilities of graffiti. The choice of blotter paper as a canvas extends El Pez’s conversation with the counterculture, nodding to the vibrancy and surrealism often associated with 1960s pop experimentations. The grid of tiny squares adds texture and intention to the piece, evoking both functionality and rebellion. In the context of contemporary art editions, this is a format that places the artwork at the crossroads of street expression, collectible culture, and fine art production.
El Pez and the Global Language of the Smile
For over two decades, El Pez has cultivated a universal visual language that transcends borders and spoken words. His smiling characters are more than repeated motifs—they are emissaries of connection. Whether on the streets of Colombia or in galleries in New York, the smiling faces project the same message: joy is an act of resistance. 25 Years Smiling is not simply a commemorative print; it is a continuation of this dialogue in a compact, collectible format. It affirms the place of humor, bold color, and friendliness as critical tools in the Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork tradition. Through this edition, El Pez reasserts that happiness can be revolutionary, and that the act of smiling—much like painting—can be profoundly transformative.
