Juan turns infrastructure into a work of art

Art that delights the eye!

A brand-new Viking, a fridge and a blue opal package now adorn the town of Hafnarfjörður. The Spanish artist Juan is now working on transforming electrical boxes and sewer valves into works of art. This is not the first time Juan has worked with the town, but rather the third. He painted the mural on the gable of Strandgata 4 in the summer of 2022 and the gable of the Hafnarfjörður Library for its 100th anniversary.

„Yes, these are new and interesting works that turn important infrastructure into works of art,“ says Juan. „We have chosen 10-11 objects which I then transform into others that are connected to Iceland, just like the blue opal pack, the fridge and the viking. It's funny, because the artworks play an important role in society,“ he says. He sees the work as an eye-trick, as the mind now plays with these important infrastructure elements.

Summer is a time for action

Juan who runs the site The Instagram page Juan Pictures Art. He says the least time is spent painting the works; the most is spent letting the mind run wild until it stumbles upon the right idea.

„Yes, the most enjoyable part of the project is the imagination, Brainstorming, look at things and consider how they can be best realised. Sometimes the idea comes quickly, but then there are things that take a long time,“ he says.

Juan is from Valencia in Spain but has been in Iceland for eight years. „I didn't know anything about Iceland until I visited the country. I thought it was one big chunk of ice. But then I got the opportunity to create, and three days after I finished that piece, I had another one,“ says Juan. „So I learnt that Icelanders want to perform in the summer. There's no point in waiting. That's one of the great things about the Icelandic people.“

I love the weather in Iceland

Juan loves the Icelandic summer. The weather, the light. „It should be illegal to be hot above 35 degrees,“ he says, laughing. „I love 10-15 degrees, though. That's my temperature. Then there's the light here in the summer, which is brilliant for creating. You can paint late into the night and if it's cloudy, the light is never better.“

Juan has been painting since childhood. He also studied fine art in Spain, but his art really took off when he moved to Iceland. „That's when I discovered the kind of pictures I wanted to paint.“

As previously mentioned, this is the third time Juan has worked with Hafnarfjörður. „It's always great to work with the town. I was fascinated when I saw how many sculptures there are in the town and that it had a website about its works. With a QR code, you can find them all.“

• A map and list of outdoor artworks in Hafnarfjörður can be found at the address utilistaverk.hafnarborg.is

Yes, art lives in Hafnarfjörður.