Sebas Velasco (b. 1988) is a Spanish artist exploring identity through expressive oil paintings of urban landscapes and portraiture.
Over the last few years, Sebas Velasco has aligned himself with the great documentarians of the transitional countries of Eastern Europe. Through frequent visits to Poland and the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Velasco observes the shifting relationship between the urban environment and economic and political structures, often delving deep into their histories and cultures to better understand their identity.
Concrete utopias and peripheral spaces on the outskirts of cities have come to define Velasco’s work — places that exist on the margins but, to him, teem with life. Concrete towers, abandoned vehicles, and neon signs are collaged from photographs taken during his extensive trips to the region, creating new photographic realities.
With a meticulous focus on light and its properties, Velasco’s art transcends the boundaries of conventional aesthetics, offering a more atmospheric and emotional reflection on time. Whether depicting cars no longer in production, people wearing sportswear from another era, or plants breaking through cracked concrete, even in the most dystopian scenes, a quiet but persistent sense of hope prevails.
Emerging from the Spanish graffiti scene of the early 2000s, Sebas Velasco’s artistic journey began in Bilbao, where he studied Fine Art. Since then, he has received several distinctions, including the Segovia Landscape Painting Fellowship at Palacio de Quintanar in 2025, awarded by the San Quirce Royal Academy of History and Art.
He was also awarded the Antonio Gala Foundation Artistic Residency Grant and has received several prizes, including first prize in the Drawing International Sports Competition, organized by the Association of Catalan Sports Federations, and first prize in the prestigious AXA Catedral de Burgos competition.
Notably, in 2022, he was invited to participate in a conversation series about his artistic practice at the Prado Museum in Madrid. In 2025, he held his institutional debut at the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
With an independent practice shaped by ambitious collaborations and research trips with musicians and photographers, Velasco has exhibited in galleries and at art fairs across Europe, the United States, and Asia. His original works are held in notable private and international collections.
Continuing the great tradition of Basque art collectives in Spain, Velasco is also a member of Formato Norte, a collective of Basque artists celebrating the rich legacy of creativity and collaboration in northern Spain.
(https://www.sebasvelasco.com/about.html)