MEXICO CITY.- In Paesaggi Industriali, Sten Lex work with their iconic geometrical structures, meticulously constructed in a logical and precise manner. The artworks, composed of lines that resemble labyrinths or industrial landscapes, are created with a technique the artists call “Stencil Poster.” This process modifies the traditional style used in street art by creating paper matrixes stuck to the surface they work on and later cut, creating a stencil. They then cover it completely with paint and remove the mold, oftentimes leaving parts of it hanging from the finished piece. Hence, the destruction of the matrix is part of the creation process of the piece, bestowing its uniqueness.

Contrasting these large architectural artworks, Sten Lex exhibit a collection of dark silhouettes created from free-hand cutouts drawn on paper and contained in glass. Through their shadow, these pieces project an organic image, altered by the changing light.

Thus the artists study both the logic and chaos of the lines, textures and figures of the creative process, using adhesion as an uncontrollable element that alters the rigid structures and jointly creates a contained chaos by enclosing light strokes within strict borders.

Sten (Rome, 1982) Lex (Taranto, 1982) are among the most internationally renowned Italian street artists to date. They got their start in 2001 on the streets of Rome, and since then, their work has been in constant evolution. The duo is best know in the stencil making community for developing the halftone stencil technique, where the main parts of their portraits are composed by thousands of lines and strips of paper. This images appear abstract from up close and only reveal their representational nature when seen from far away.

In 2008, Sten Lex exhibited at the Banksy Cans Festival along with 39 international artists including Prism, Blek Le Rat, Faile, Vhils and Vexta

It was in 2010, for their solo show in Co2 Gallery, that Sten Lex developed their technique combining collage, stencil and op art, creating unique works, both poetic and powerful.

Their 2013 solo show in Shanghai, China at Magda Danysz Gallery marked a turning point for them, since this was the first time they exhibited abstract pieces. In this work, made with the same technique but inspired by pencil sketches, Sten Lex decided to use the lines in a chaotic manner. In doing so, they pushed the medium to convey a different meaning than that of the common stencil in street art.