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Bio
Born in 1985 in Buenos Aires, Mariano, a self-taught artist known as BNS (or BIENES), was influenced by graffiti, skateboarding, and hip-hop culture from an early age, shaping the foundation of his artistic practice. After relocating to New York City in the early 2000s, he spent over a decade creating murals, installations, and paintings, developing a visual language that established him in the contemporary art scene. Now based between Barcelona and Brooklyn, his work remains deeply rooted in his street art background.
His work has been acquired by collectors including Paris Hilton, Macaulay Culkin, Nicky Jam, and NAS and has been featured in Forbes, Haute Living, and other leading publications.
Process
BNS bridges street and fine art by integrating his public interventions into his studio practice. His street art and graffiti, often ephemeral, are placed in key city locations, blending into their surroundings while being exposed to weather, tags, and uncontrolled interactions. He documents these interventions through photography, later transferring them onto silkscreens and incorporating these scenes in his gallery works.
For nearly 20 years, he has refined a self-taught approach to silkscreening. Viewing it as an individual art form, he employs an unconventional technique that does not use registration. Each screen is burned and hand-pulled with controlled pressure to achieve distinct variations where all screens are applied to the canvas only once, ensuring that every piece is unique. This approach contrasts with the traditional perception of silkscreen as a repetitive process.
His work is built through layering, combining aerosol paint, acrylics, silkscreen, inks, collage, and photography to create depth and texture. Compositions often exceed 30 layers, exploring the interplay between urban landscapes and organic elements, juxtaposing architectural structures like bricks, cables, and water towers with botanical imagery.
His works are primarily on canvas or wood panels, sometimes incorporating a resin finish.
Selected Exhibitions
- Art Miami 2021, 2022, 2023
- Art Wynwood 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023
- Palm Beach Modern+Contemporary 2018, 2019, 2020
- Scope Miami 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
- LA Art Show 2018
- Scope NY 2018
- Scope Basel 2016 2017, 2018