El Tono's Line and Surface

At least ten years ago I was asked to write the accompanying texts for a book that would document the work of a number of street artists. The book never materialized but through it I was introduced to the post-graffiti street art scene which at the time was at a period of incredible artistic ferment and which was also a very lively international scene with many artist collaborating. Fond memories of great parties! El Tono was one the people to be covered in the book. He is from France originally and was living in Barcelona at the time, I never got to meet him but his work was well known. Even between 30 other street artists his style (abstract tuning forks in bold lines and bright colours) immediately stood out, no easy thing. But, as these things go, the scene imploded under its own weight, but the people involved didn't stop. This is how it happened that Local boy W%D, who at the time was running the popular street art website Stickit is now using the name to run a small publishing firm and his latest release is 'Line and Surface', a nearly 100 page-long overview of a decade of El Tono. It is well documented, beautiful to look at, and it is amazing to see how El Tono's work has evolved from project to project. The best things for me: I wrote a tiny bit for the book, did get to meet El Tono and just got back from a great release party.