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. With frequent visits to Poland and the countries of former Yugoslavia; Velasco observes the shifting relationship between the urban environment and economical/political structures, often delving deep into their histories and culture to better understand their identity. Concrete utopias and peripheral spaces on the skirts of cities have come to identify Velasco’s work, always on the fringe but for him, teaming with life. Concrete towers, abandoned vehicles, and neon signs are collaged from photography taken on his extensive trips to the region to create new photographic realities. With a meticulous focus on light and its properties, Velasco’s art transcends the boundaries of conventional aesthetics toward a more atmospheric and emotional reflection of time. Whether it’s 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 with his studies in Fine Art. Since this time he has been the recipient of the Segovia Landscape Painting Fellowship at Palacio de Quintanar (2025), awarded by the San Quirce Royal Academy of History and Art. He was awarded the “Antonio Gala Foundation” Artistic Residency Grant and has received several awards, including the first prize in the “Drawing International Sports Competition”, organized by the Association of Catalan Sports Federations; and the first prize in the prestigious AXA “Catedral de Burgos” prize. Notably, in 2022, he was invited for a conversation series on his practice at the Prado Museum in Madrid and in 2025 executed his institutional debut at the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With an independent practice that sees ambitious collaborations and research trips with musicians and photographers, Velasco has exhibited in galleries and Art Fairs across Europe, USA and Asia and has originals held in notable private and international collections. Continuing the great tradition of Basque art collectives in Spain, Velasco is also a member of the Formato Norte group, a collective of Basque artists celebrating the proud legacy of creativity and collaboration in the North of Spain.