“Before everyone wanted to be Messi, now they want to be Alexia”

Tvboy welcomes us to Gràcia, the “protective and feminist” neighborhood of Barcelona that she has chosen as the setting for her latest work: an impressive mural of Alexia Putellas turned into a superheroine who has gone around the world. Although he studied industrial design and worked in the layout section of a skate and snowboard magazine, the artist finally ended up opting for art, a passion he inherited from his father Claudio, a painting teacher who was not very clear about his son’s future as an artist until he witnessed his first exhibition in Milan. “My father did not believe that he could dedicate me to doing graffiti, we received many fines at home,” he recalls with a smile in his eyes.

The Italian defines his art as “urban pop” despite the fact that ironically many of his works are inspired by the Italian Renaissance. “I try to paint well-known figures so that the mural reaches more people. Through them I get my message across”, he declares.

The work of Messi and Cristiano kissing was a turning point in the career of Tvboy. “That’s where everything exploded. Through it I wanted to convey the need for dialogue between people but it was also a message in favor of the ‘LGTB’ community”, he explains.

About Alexia’s mural, the young man admits that “he had been thinking about portraying her for a long time” but it was his 5-year-old daughter who gave him the final push. She “she asked me to sign her up for soccer. That was the biggest goal for Alexia and her teammates”. That day he decided that the time had come to change his painting of Diego Armando Maradona in the Plaza de Joanic for a message of equality and inclusion. “Before everyone wanted to be Messi and now everyone wants to be Alexia,” he argues. “What I ask the new generations through this work is that they fight for their dreams. Alexia, the soccer superhero, was a girl who fought against those who did not believe in her and won, ”he insists.

Tvboy is in contact with the manager of the Ballon d’Or winner, who has let her know that the Barça captain is very grateful for this tribute. This very week the artist has sent him a paper replica of the mural that will arrive before the great Women’s Classic at the Camp Nou. “The ‘sold out’ is a great achievement,” says the Italian, who one day also managed to get urban art to understand the great Leonardo da Vinci.

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