Blocks

Blocks is a tribute to the unnoticed architecture of Barcelona’s peripheral neighborhoods. In this project, MaoSagao shifts the gaze away from the iconic cityscape – Gaudí’s masterpieces, Gothic façades, and the tourist-saturated urban core – and toward the buildings that define everyday life for the majority of its citizens.

Each painting in the Blocks series captures an architectural detail from residential or functional structures in less celebrated districts. These buildings, though often overlooked, form the visual and emotional fabric of the city. Through careful observation and reinterpretation, the artist elevates their forms to aesthetic symbols of belonging, resilience, and collective memory.

The works are based on a meticulous process of field research, visual documentation, and compositional studies. Technically, each piece is constructed through a combination of acrylic and mixed media on canvas, employing a process of masked layering that allows the artist to control repetition and variation with surgical precision. In Blocks, this technique reinforces the idea of accumulation, rhythm, and modularity – echoing the architecture of the neighborhoods themselves.

Blocks aims to restore dignity and centrality to the urban periphery, using the universal language of art to spark curiosity and reflection. By isolating and reassembling these architectural fragments, the project invites us to reconsider what we call “home,” and to see beauty where we are not taught to look.