Baukje Spaltro

Baukje Spaltro is a contemporary painter based in Amsterdam and Milan whose work explores the relationship between people and the urban places they inhabit. Since 2015, she has developed her City Spheres project, drawing on the Roman concept of genius loci—the spirit and local identity of a place—and ideas by philosopher Peter Sloterdijk. Rather than depicting cities as physical landscapes, Spaltro paints the atmosphere and character she senses in the districts where she temporarily lives. Her canvases combine fluorescent and tonal colors, using color and light to invite viewers to reconsider how they experience their surroundings.

Her ongoing City Sphere Corvetto series, begun in 2022, focuses on the Corvetto district of Milan and the role local people play in shaping a neighborhood’s identity, particularly amid urban development and gentrification. Accompanying the paintings is her City Sphere Manifesto, which connects artistic perspective, urban awareness, fluorescent color, and social intelligence with the idea of more inclusive cities.