Felipe Pantone (born 1986) is an Argentine-Spanish contemporary artist. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and raised in southeast Spain. Pantone's body of work is based in kinetic art, installations, graffiti, and design, characterized by ëuse of bold colors, geometrical patterns, and Op Art elementsû. His combinations recall ëbright colored typography, 80s Synth pop music, and SMPTE color bars on the TVû.
Pantone began doing graffiti as Pant1 in Torrevieja, Spain, then moved to Valencia at the age of 18, where he started painting with the D.O.C.S crew and later became part of UltraBoyz (UB). He became known for his avant-garde cursive handstyle.
Pantone began showing his work in galleries in 2006. It has since appeared on buildings, walls and in galleries worldwide, from the Mesa Contemporary Arts Center to the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, as well as in Mexico City, Osaka, Lisbon, Palestine, Italy, and Australia. Pantone has been featured in various forms of media, including Reebok's "Always Classic" campaign. He used a 1994 Corvette as a canvas for his pixelated graphics, a piece presented in the exhibit Beyond the Streets. The piece is now known as "Ultradynamic".
Pantone often works in gradients, blending geometric shapes with neon colors and whites, blacks, and greys, with critics noting "The divisions between geometric patterns and gradients are so effortlessly blended that the larger patterns seem created with digitization rather than with two hands." He cites the Parisian Grim Team and UltraBoyz crews as early influences.
Forbes magazine called his aesthetic "the intersection of Blade Runner and PhotoShop" for its concepts of dynamism, transformation, and movement. Others have said he has created a new visual dialogue derived from his infatuation with the digital age, comparing his work to Venezuelan Op artist Carlos Cruz-Diez's chromatic linework and the geometric graphics of Jonathan Zawada.
In 2019, Pantone collaborated with Hennessy on the Very Special (V.S) Limited Edition series, themed "Remixing the Present". PantoneâÂÂs vibrant, geometric design, titled "W-3 Dimensional Three Stars," incorporates historical Hennessy elements like the three-star motif and a quilted pattern, blended with neon gradients and a lightning bolt symbolizing the digital age, adorning the bottle and packaging. Containing HennessyâÂÂs V.S cognac, a blend of 40 eaux-de-vie, the limited-edition bottle was launched globally in July 2019, celebrating the fusion of tradition and contemporary art.
Since 2020, Pantone has collaborated with Swiss watchmaker Zenith on several projects blending his kinetic art with horology. Their first project saw Pantone transform ZenithâÂÂs Le Locle manufacture facade with a vibrant mural, a first for a watchmaker. In 2021, they released the DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone, a limited-edition chronograph featuring his signature gradient colors and moiré effects, followed by a unique DEFY 21 Double Tourbillon for the 2021 Only Watch auction, which set a Zenith record at 480,000 CHF. Subsequent collaborations included the 2022 DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone and the 2024 DEFY Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone, both limited to 100 pieces, showcasing iridescent dials and lightning bolt motifs inspired by PantoneâÂÂs work.
In 2023, Pantone collaborated with Krink through a set of K-60 markers.
In 2024, Pantone collaborated with Google Arts & Culture to integrate augmented reality (AR) into his street art. Using GoogleâÂÂs AR Synth platform, he created interactive murals that blend physical graffiti with digital effects, allowing viewers to experience dynamic visual layers through mobile devices.