I've been painting in the streets for 12 years. In 2015, during a residency in Barcelona, I started using the traditional Azulejos ceramic design that we often see in Spain, Portugal, and Maghreb in my work. I started including these colored patterns in my murals, and it became my trademark as a street artist. This led me to great interest and study of traditional crafts of different cultures around the world and their symbols. I searched for a way to link traditional arts and crafts to my paintings and urban art.
Carpets are one of the most ancient, visually rich, and meaningful traditional arts that can be found. They are traditionally weaved by women, which is why I chose to represent women's portraits on them.
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My, that is beautiful. Especially when you know it's just sprayed on a rug!
I kept the idea of painting on a carpet in mind for a year before jumping into it. Thinking about whether it’s possible or not, how to do it, which materials I could use… Then, I finally tried to apply my street art techniques to the carpet as if it was a wall. I painted with spray paint, and it worked perfectly! The face merged into the traditional pattern of the carpet as I used transparency and shading techniques.
Carpets, as well as human portraits, are composed symmetrically. I try to find the magical symmetry between the two elements. I see something truly beautiful in the center medallion of the carpet which often gets positioned in the place of the third eye of the face.
I consider myself a spiritual person; I meditate and perform a ritual before each piece before entering a flow state of painting. I am not entitled to mistakes as I'm painting directly on a valuable rug—each line and movement has to be perfect.
It results in a great mix of contemporary urban arts with ancient traditional craft and culture. I love this duality: by adding a human element to a traditional carpet, these works touch our deep being, our universal consciousness, they question our cultural identity which is currently cannibalized by standardization and mass culture.
Beautiful works of art, but Persian rugs aren't cheap; this project must have cost you a fortune!
I guess my problem is that I'm really not into the ones that look abstract. I mean, in their way, they are all beautiful.
I am just mesmerized by your work! It is truly stunning. The placement of the original designs looks like beautiful tribal tattoos. They all look magical! Thanks for sharing. What do you charge for small rug 3 x 5ft? What sizes do you have?
Great work Mateo! These are truly "women of color" and great style. How long does it take to do each one?
Wow Mateo these are AMAZING!!! These women (even though they are rugs) look like they are on a mission to change the world or even rule a country/continent! These are like empowering in some way Great work
Amazing!!!!! Absolutely unbelievable and creative and magical! Bravo!
the impression is that of tattooed faces with extremely rich and particular motifs. not all of them convinced me but surely most of us were something very particular and fascinating.
These are absolutely stunning! What social media/sites are you on? I would love to follow your work and totally love to have a piece of your art.
You should really take a look at getting these in an art museum/gallery! they are amazing!
I think you may have started a trend on face tattoos. Not a fan of them but YOUR work is lovely.
Mateo your work is great! this is one hundred something new and fresh! Can you tell me where you can download them in high resolution for porter?
Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. Mateo.
Beautiful, beautiful talent. I think in this site it overpowers the viewer with so many wonderful pictures that by the end I couldn't truly appreciate the art or the talent, not even the beauty of the subjects.
This...is f*****g nice.
Great work Mateo! These are truly "women of color" and great style. How long does it take to do each one?
Wow Mateo these are AMAZING!!! These women (even though they are rugs) look like they are on a mission to change the world or even rule a country/continent! These are like empowering in some way Great work
Amazing!!!!! Absolutely unbelievable and creative and magical! Bravo!
the impression is that of tattooed faces with extremely rich and particular motifs. not all of them convinced me but surely most of us were something very particular and fascinating.
These are absolutely stunning! What social media/sites are you on? I would love to follow your work and totally love to have a piece of your art.
You should really take a look at getting these in an art museum/gallery! they are amazing!
I think you may have started a trend on face tattoos. Not a fan of them but YOUR work is lovely.
Mateo your work is great! this is one hundred something new and fresh! Can you tell me where you can download them in high resolution for porter?
Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. Mateo.
Beautiful, beautiful talent. I think in this site it overpowers the viewer with so many wonderful pictures that by the end I couldn't truly appreciate the art or the talent, not even the beauty of the subjects.
This...is f*****g nice.