Matheus Machado, born in 1987. Lives and works in the city of Jacareí, in the interior of São Paulo - Brazil. He has a degree in Visual Arts from Braz Cubas University in Mogi das Cruzes.
Tell us your story, why did you become an artist?
I was born in Jacareí, a small city in the interior of São Paulo in Brazil. Like every child, I was an unpretentious drawer, I remember scribbling the last pages of my mother's recipe book.
As a teenager, I became enchanted by pixação, an illegal artistic form widely practiced in SP. I was enchanted by the verticality of the letters in parallel with the geometry of the buildings. It was a vehicle for me to explore the city and its architecture, which is perhaps the biggest inspiration for my paintings today.
When you create a new work, how do you go about it? What comes first?
I need some kind of “excuse” to start a painting job. The blank canvas is challenging.
So, in a small notebook, I make some projects and pencil sketches based on things that inspire me such as: architecture in general, the facades of the small houses and shops in my city and the popular festivals in the region. Then I transfer the drawing to canvas, where, as I paint, I think about the relationship between colors.
I can never finish a painting the same way I designed it. It always undergoes changes and decides on a different route.
But the power of the work is in this deviation, the work is being formed while I paint. A painting is made of layers, where errors and noises are incorporated into the work as language.
What can you tell us about your studio, what makes it special to you and how does it influence the way you work?
My studio is an annex to my house and I spend most of my days here. I live and work in an old and very quiet neighborhood in my city. People still sit on the sidewalk every late afternoon to chat. I frequent it every day, not always to paint. Sometimes I sit in the armchair and read something that interests me. Other times, I just stare at work for hours or sweep the dust off the floor with a broom. Work on several screens at the same time, thinking about the relationships between them.
The studio is a magical place, full of ghosts. Sometimes it happens that works that I left facing the wall, because they were not determined, become very good and ready after a while of maturing. On the other hand, works that they thought were ready ended up in ruins the next day.
Is there a work of art in your life that has especially impressed you?
There are many works that have impacted in an impactful way the river of sensitivity that lives within me. I consume a lot of my literature and cinema from an early age and this has a profound impact on production.
However, the entire basis of my work is linked to the great masters of painting in the history of art. I could cite many works. But, I highlight here the fresco by Brazilian painter Alfredo Volpi, which can be found in the Capela do Cristo Operário in the city of São Paulo.
Reach to the stars: where will you be in 5 years?
I will be working, having fun and eating healthy plant-based foods in any pleasant place in this chaotic and peaceful world.
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