Gustavo ‘Defi’ Gagliardo, was born in Villa Real, Argentina into a traditional Italian family living in a small neighbourhood in the cosmopolitan city of Buenos Aires.

He studied design at the University of Buenos Aires where he was inspired to create FASE with some other artists; an artistic collaboration working across multiple disciplines ranging from illustration, music and motion graphics through to film and fashion.

He played an important part in the birth of street art in Argentina and evades categorization and definition, escaping them through perpetual mutation.

While the street remains his natural environment, he has exhibited his work all over the world, displaying it in London, Berlin, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Milan and Tokyo.

His maquette series was born out of necessity, when he found himself in between studios and had to temporarily relocate his activities to his home. He soon concluded that the only work that could reasonably be undertaken in such a confined space, was small scale, and his maquette series was born.

These maquettes are typical of Defi’s world view: no matter how severe the devastation and chaos…romance, hope and serenity will always prevail.