Portuguese artist AddFuel revealed recently his largest and probably most important project to date – “Louvor da Vivacidade” (which translates to “Praise to Liveliness” or “Praise to a Living City”) for Infante Santo Avenue Azulejo Route in Lisbon invited by Estrela Town Hall.
During the last decades The famous Azulejo Route has been an important landmark where one can find tile panels by renowned Portuguese artists like Maria Keil (1959), Carlos Botelho (1959), Júlio Pomar and Alice Jorge (1959), Sá Nogueira (1959), Eduardo Nery (1994 and 2001) and now AddFuel.
AddFuel’s piece intends to celebrate the Azulejo tradition by reflecting on its historical, architectural and traditional elements, highlighting its undeniably Portuguese identity and adding his unique contemporary aesthetic approach.
By reinterpreted the street’s existing azulejos, specifically the historical panels on the staircases, AddFuel creates a stunning and massive 200-sq meter panel as an homage to the previous pieces. In his own words: “Within this controlled chaos, I created a dynamic composition, with elements based on Estrela neighbourhood’s history; a place of long forgotten fishermen with a deep connection to the sea. I believe these elements will work out to have the necessary strength this tribute deserves.”
This project was also possible due to the partnership created with Revigés, a 100% Portuguese ceramic company with 40 years of activity.
About the artist
Add Fuel is Portuguese visual artist and illustrator Diogo Machado (1980). A former graphic designer, his recent artistic practice has been focused on reinterpreting and playing with the language of traditional tile design, and that of the Portuguese tin-glazed ceramic azulejo in particular. Blending traditional and contemporary elements, his original vector- based designs and stencil-based street art reveal an impressive complexity and a masterful attention to detail. Based on a combination of tesselations that create balance from symmetrical repetitions and visual illusion techniques such as trompe-l’œil, his multi-layered patterned compositions create a poetic rhythm that plays with the viewer’s perception and the possibilities of interpretation. He has been showcasing his work in both solo and group exhibitions since 2006, as well as participating in some of the world’s leading urban art events.
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
