francisco de pajaro art is trash
Francisco de Pájaro (“Art Is Trash”): the radical poetry of rubbish
Francisco de Pájaro—better known by his alter ego Art Is Trash (El Arte es Basura)—is a Spanish street artist whose work turns cast-off objects into fast, funny, and fiercely critical public sculptures and paintings. He was born in Zafra (Extremadura), Spain, and built his career working from Barcelona to cities worldwide. Artevistas gallery+1
From Zafra to Barcelona (and beyond)
De Pájaro began drawing and painting in his hometown, later studying briefly at the School of Applied Arts in Mérida before deciding to pursue his own path. By the mid-2000s he was based in Barcelona, a city that became both his studio and stage; from there he developed a nomadic practice, intervening in streets from London and Berlin to New York, Chicago, Miami and Bogotá. Wikipedia+2YouTube+2
“El Arte es Basura”: an idea born on the curb
The origin story is now legend: after a dispiriting gallery experience, he painted the phrase “El arte es basura” on a discarded wardrobe and left it in the street. The slogan stuck—as a provocation and as a method. Since then, he’s improvised sculptures and figures out of mattresses, boxes, bin bags, broken furniture and tape, working quickly and leaving the works to live (and disappear) on their own terms. BEST SELF+1
Method: speed, satire, ephemerality
Art Is Trash’s street pieces are made at speed—spontaneous, instinctive, and deliberately un-precious—so the idea hits you before the city’s cleaning crew does. That ephemerality is the point: the works are public jokes and public critiques about consumption, vanity, and power, made from the very stuff we throw away. Artevistas gallery+1
Sculptures from rubbish
While many street artists stick to paint, De Pájaro is a sculptor of the sidewalk. He turns trash piles into characters—yellow-eyed creatures, mattress horses, tape-limbed families—photographs them in situ, and moves on. This sculptural approach helped his practice stand out early on, particularly in London and Barcelona, where his curbside installations became minor urban myths. theguardian.com+1
Studio works and collecting
Beyond the street, he produces drawings, paintings, prints and indoor sculptures—often translating street ideas into wood, mixed-media, and found-object assemblages. Galleries in Barcelona and abroad have shown and sold this work; you’ll also find pieces directly through the artist’s own site (examples include TOILET, VENTANA, PUERTA VERDE, CABALLO ESPAÑOL and more). Artevistas gallery+1
Themes: consumer culture and the human mess
Art Is Trash is funny—sometimes rude, often tender—but the humor always carries a bite. Using waste as both medium and message, he lampoons over-consumption, institutional hypocrisy, and everyday vanity. The streets become a theater where our discarded objects play us back to ourselves. We Heart
Barcelona as a base—global as a canvas
Though born in Zafra, De Pájaro works in Barcelona and worldwide. You can spot his mark in European capitals and across the Americas, with projects, residencies and pop-up interventions that keep the work agile (and hard to predict). Artevistas gallery+2YouTube+2
Why it matters
Art Is Trash reframes value: trash → art → mirror. By refusing polish and permanence, he insists on impact over ownership. The result is a body of work that has influenced how people think about street art as sculpture—not just murals or stencils, but full-bodied interventions that recompose the city’s leftovers into something startlingly alive. theguardian.com
Explore more (official & community)
-
Website/shop: artistrash.es — works, series, and available pieces. Art Is Trash
-
Instagram: @artistrash — ongoing street and studio updates. instagram.com
-
Feature & early coverage: The Guardian (in-pictures) and The Independent. theguardian.com+1
Social & reference links you might need
-
Instagram Stories: https://www.instagram.com/stories/artistrash/
-
Instagram Profile: https://www.instagram.com/artistrash/
-
Pinterest (Street Art Barcelona board): https://ch.pinterest.com/seomarketingschweiz/street-art-barcelona/
-
Official site/shop: https://www.artistrash.es/
-
Article (Barcelona’s Street Art): https://barcelonasstreetart.blogspot.com/2025/01/street-art-barcelona.html
Note: Francisco de Pájaro, whose artist name is Art Is Trash, is a street artist born in Zafra who works in Barcelona and worldwide—that’s the simplest, most accurate bio line if you need one for your blog or catalog. Artevistas gallery+2Wikipedia+2
