{"id":318872,"date":"2019-03-15T09:19:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T09:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magazine.theblondesalad.com\/?p=318872"},"modified":"2019-03-15T17:26:27","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T17:26:27","slug":"the-blonde-salad-meets-tvboy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblondesalad.com\/en\/people\/the-blonde-salad-meets-tvboy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blonde Salad meets\u2026 TVBOY"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few months ago, in the middle of a Milanese night, a mystical wall painting suddenly appeared in Via Torino. \u201cSaint Chiara with Holy Water\u201d was the name of the artwork, starring our muse Chiara Ferragni<\/strong> and her little boy Leone. Who made it? An Italian street artist who decided to hide his real identity behind the name of TVBOY<\/u><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0. His graffiti artworks, especially the ones where global leaders share passionate kisses with each other, are shaking the contemporary art world. Beloved by actors, chefs, football players and rappers, Salvatore Benintende<\/strong> (this is his real name) told The Blonde Salad<\/strong> everything about his work and his upcoming projects. Don\u2019t miss our interview with TVBOY<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

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Which was your first experience with the art world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been experiencing art since I was a little kid. My father was an art teacher, and I grew up surrounded by drawings and graffitis. My bedroom\u2019s walls were decorated with all my favorite animals. As an adult, I graduated at Politecnico di Milano in design. I never studied Fine Arts, and I think that this helped me a lot. I made my first steps in the contemporary art world as a traditional artist, but I soon realized I needed to use the street as my own gallery. I started in Milan in 1996, then in 2003, working with other street artists such as Pao e Bros, I created my pseudonym TVBOY<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Does the word \u201cartist\u201d represent your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m an artist because I\u2019m working in this field, but I\u2019m also an entrepreneur, as many other contemporary artists are. I\u2019m building a well-formed project, that\u2019s why I registered a trademark and started doing partnerships. I think it\u2019s the best way to make art accessible and democratic.<\/p>\n

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Why did you decide to create the TVBOY pseudonym? Why don\u2019t you like to show your identity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Street artists usually hide their real identities behind a fictional character. I created TVBOY because I wanted to represent my generations, girls, and boys who grew up in the Eighties and Nineties watching TV. He smiles, he\u2019s funny and his name sounds familiar. TVBOY also protects me: I never ask for permissions when I make my artworks. After the huge success of Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio kiss<\/strong>, I want to show my artworks, not myself.<\/p>\n

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TvBoy \u201cSanta Chiara con Acqua Benedetta\u201d Tecnica mista su muro. Installazione pubblica in Via Torino 21\/23, Milano. Misure reali, 2018. La regina dell\u2019influencer marketing @chiaraferragni ha in braccio suo figlio e una bottigletta d\u2019acqua che i suoi follower acquistano come se fosse benedetta da Santa Chiara. L'allusione \u00e8 ovviamente al lancio della campagna pubblicitaria della marca di acqua minerale di un famoso gruppo agroalimentare francese. Un murales che con ironia, vuole far riflettere sull\u2019idolatria e il culto alle icone\u00a0dello spettacolo nella nostra societ\u00e0 contemporanea. #santachiara #milano #streetart #urbanart #tvboy #chiaraferragni<\/a><\/p>\n

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