Born in Madrid in 1965, Juan Carlos Argüello, better known as Muelle, is considered the first Spanish graffiti writer.
Around 1980, Muelle's signature begins to be seen on the walls of the streets and Metro stations of the city of Madrid. At that time, Juan Carlos Argüello, a young resident of the Campamento neighborhood in Madrid, had already been writing his nickname “Muelle” for some time everywhere he used to go, both with a marker and with spray.
His signature, the word Muelle accompanied by the inseparable corkscrew ending in an arrow and the ®, a symbol used in trademark registrations, created a graffiti movement called "flechero".
Muelle's signature turned Madrid into a multicolored city, which in the midst of its eighties effervescence, adopted and made its signature the signature as a symbol of the modernity and transgression that its streets experienced.
With the passage of time, the design of the firm evolved, as well as the places where it was captured, selecting locations with good visibility, that did not disfigure the urban landscape or generate an expense while respecting private property, thus laying the first foundations of graffiti in Spain.
From the most remote point of Spain to London, Juan Carlos took advantage of every moment to leave his stamp of identity.
Juan Carlos was a pioneer for his art and for its identification as a brand, which led him in 1985 to register his signature: Muelle®. His legacy, flechero graffiti, has remained alive to this day.
In parallel to his activity on the street, Muelle carried out commissions for institutions, companies and individuals, in addition to creating an important private collection of works, exhibited over the years in different museums, art galleries and foundations.
Juan Carlos died in 1995 at the age of 29 due to cancer.
Three decades have passed in which popular recognition of Muelle has not ceased, among the highlights is the naming of a square in the city of Madrid in his name, the restoration and conservation of the Montera street signature in Madrid, and the recent announcement by the Community of Madrid in which his works will be exhibited in 2022 at the Campamento Metro station.
Correos joins this recognition by issuing a stamp that inaugurates a new series dedicated to URBAN ART pioneered by Muelle in Spain. His signature appears on the stamp on a brick façade in a neighborhood in Madrid.
