STREETsmART

4. A Close-up Look at CERE

Miguel Maestro Cerezo, better known as Cere, is another prolific street artist living in Valencia. Originally from Burgos, a small city near the Basque Country (Northern Spain), he moved to Alicante when he was 17 to study art, later continuing his studies in Valencia. Many years later he is still brightening up the walls of the city:

Navegando por el barrio, (Navigating the neighbourhood),

Cere (2014)

Cere began his informal training at age 15, along with other kids from school. He practiced on abandoned warehouses near his home, later painting trains and any other surface he could find. “I have good memories of those years in Burgos; experimentation with letters and characters opened my mind to a whole new world.”*

Today, Cere works as a graphic artist focused on Graphic Design, Illustration and Art Direction. He works on a wide range of creative stuff, for himself and commercial interests.

A Cuchillo, (A Stab),

Cere in collaboration with Lolo (2013)

Fortunately, he chose to settle in a city that embraces street art. “If you paint with respect, ordinary people will love what you do because it gives them culture for free, in the streets.”*

Evolving Styles

Over the years Cere’s style has varied considerably and he says the changes reflect how he feels at any given time. When he was in a rebellious mood, he painted wolves. “It was a fun way of claiming the streets as ours.”*

Cere (2009)

Then he focused on the black pudding of his home town, the “Morcillas de Burgos”. With this series he marked a cultural shift towards his roots. He wanted to highlight the remoteness and superficiality of the street-art scene at the time and to condemn the globalization of society.

Cere (2011)

Cere (2012)

La Esquina del Amor, (The Corner of Love),

Cere 2012

More recently, Cere seems to be strengthening his claim to the neighbourhood as a place for art instead of up-scale development. He's often seen collaborating on the streets with other Valencia-based artists, particularly Laguna and Lolo Fonico.