TelmoMiel – Brothers in Aerosol

TelmoMiel – Brothers in Aerosol

By Arden de Raaij

The Dutch duo Telmomiel is amongst the best contemporary artists that the Netherlands has to offer at this moment. They’ve got the skill for photorealism but choose to use those techniques to give their works surreal twists.

Another striking feature of their collaboration is that it seems that they paint as one. All in all, more than enough reason to show this fantastic duo some love!

“We feel art is something to being able to gaze upon. It has to be epic and beautiful. Something to look at and disappear into.”

TelmoMiel x SebasVelasco
TelmoMiel x SebasVelasco

How did TelmoMiel start?

Miel: Telmo and I started collaborating on walls since we met at the academy back in 2006-2007. I already painted walls for some time, and had gone through some phases in the Graffiti scene. Did a little tagging and wildstyles, but went on to characters quite soon. I painted together with Amok Island for a while, who I know from high school. After that kind of disappeared I worked with Sky92, Phunky and Reus who were based in the south-east of Holland. Logistically that wasn’t a right fit in the end either I guess. When I bumped into Telmo on the academy it was like I found my brother from another mother. He’s a little younger (Telmo is 26) then I am (31), but that didn’t show skillwise. I kind of showed him the graffiti world and the things that are possible with spray can and walls.

After the first wall he was hooked I guess, and we never stopped painting together since.

TelmoMiel
TelmoMiel

Telmo: We were put together in the same class at the Academy in 2006. All my life (at that time not so long) I was already fascinated and busy with art, painting, drawing and creating. Always busy making something.
Right at the time when my interest for graffiti and street art was growing, I met Miel. He was already quite busy in that scene and I definitely wanted to try it out. So we went painting together and after the first time painting with spray cans I was hooked.

We never stopped painting since and tried to find as much walls as possible. Skipped classes to paint, went around to do festival and jobs. After working in different crews and with a lot of different artists we knew that just the two of us worked the best. So finally we formed TELMO MIEL officially in the end of 2012 and the rest is History!

TelmoMiel
TelmoMiel
MONKEY GLOVING  by Telmo Miel
MONKEY GLOVING by Telmo Miel

Do you have a specific goal with your art? (make the world a better place, global domination, that kind of stuff)

The goal kind of changes with the time I think. At first the goal was to be technically as good as the artists we looked up to. But when we achieved that goal, another had to appear in its place. But that’s just goals in process and creative development. We’re actually not too much a fan of confronting people with stuff in our art or telling you how the world works, that’s not our job in our eyes. We feel art is something to being able to gaze upon. It has to be epic and beautiful. Something to look at and disappear into. Overall that would be our goal, to make something that
takes the mind of of everyday life. Preferably in a positive way.

TelmoMiel x Bims x Sebas Velasco x Corn79
TelmoMiel x Bims x Sebas Velasco x Corn79

Who are your inspirations?

Our inspiration comes from everything, but if we are talking about other modern artists then I would say: Joram Roukes, Etam cru, Robert Proch, Herakut.. in that area. Also classical painters like Rembrandt and Carravagio. But our idea’s come from different angles. It could be an image we find, a picture we took or just a form that we sketched up. Variety in subjects for us is also key to keep being inspired. Painting the same thing over and over would dull the mind a bit I think.

TelmoMiel
TelmoMiel
TelmoMiel
TelmoMiel
TelmoMiel - A glove story
TelmoMiel – A glove story

About TelmoMiel

Artistic Duo, Muralists and imagemakers. Both Telmo Pieper as well as Miel Krutzmann started working on their creative abilities from a very young age. But it wasn’t untill 2007 they met at the Willem...View profile