Formed in 2007, Triángulo Dorado (“Golden Triangle” in English) was one of the most influential artist collectives to join the Buenos Aires street art movement. The group was made up of three artists: Santiago Panichelli (Nemer), Pedro Panichelli (Hombre Tiki) and Francisco Ferreyra (Lema)–all three Fine Arts teachers. In June of 2013, Ferreyra split from the group to form his own collective LEMA while Santiago and Pedro changed their crew name to Presente.
As it turns out, all three artists grew up in households where at least one parent was a painter; subsequently, all three began drawing and painting from an early age. They first met in 2001 while attending the same high school. It was Santiago who first nudged the group into painting in the streets, and, the more they painted, the more they realized the far reach that this type of art has on people. Independent of intermediaries and of current trends, they were able to produce pieces that a vast public was able to appreciate.
Murals by Triángulo Dorado have a very refined and recognizable look. Influenced by expressionist painters, they explored techniques and styles from a wide variety of contemporary and classic movements dedicated to urban art interventions. They also experimented with abstract geometric compositions and with astonishing figures with surreal bodies but surprisingly realistic faces displaying a high degree of detail. Works by Triángulo Dorado are recognizable for their use a royal color palette on dark-toned backgrounds, and for their use of eye-catching figurative elements such as calligraphy and geometric shapes.
Before their eventual split, in many respects Triángulo Dorado was representative of a new generation of street artists and muralists. Despite moving in different directions, all three members continue to produce art pieces true to the style they developed together. To see their latest projects, have a look at Presente’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PresenteCrew/ and for LEMA: https://www.facebook.com/FHFerreyra/