Add Fuel is Portuguese visual artist Diogo Machado (b. 1980). With a degree in Graphic Design from Lisbon’s IADE – Institute of Visual Arts, Design and Marketing, he spent a few years working in design studios in Portugal, followed by an eight-month stint in Munich, Germany. Since 2007, he has been focusing exclusively on his artistic work.
Starting out under the full name “Add Fuel to the Fire”, he first created a dark yet exuberant visual universe populated by a cast of slimy, eccentric and joyful creatures, influenced by a variety of interests ranging from video games to comics, animation, sci-fi, designer toys, and urban visual culture. In 2008, fascinated with the aesthetic possibilities of symmetrical patterning and tessellations, he shortened his moniker to “Add Fuel” and began redirecting his focus towards working with and reinterpreting the language of traditional tile design, and that of the Portuguese tin-glazed ceramic azulejo in particular. Effortlessly blending these two seemingly-irreconcilable visual idioms, his current practice seeks to combine traditional decorative elements with contemporary visual referents into new forms that reveal an impressive complexity and a masterful attention to detail. If, on the face of it, his work in small and medium sized tile panels, large-scale stencil and freehand painted murals, and print editions might seem simply a pastiche of classic formalism, a closer inspection rewards the viewer with a chaotic world of unequivocally original motifs and characters brimming with deep emotions.
Creating balance and harmony from symmetrical repetitions, a build-up of layers and techniques of visual illusion such as trompe-l’œil, his multi-layered patterned compositions produce a poetic rhythm that plays with the viewer’s perception and the (multiple) possibilities of interpretation. Exploring a wide range of both manual and digital techniques in the fields of drawing, painting, ceramics, and printing, his practice expresses a sophisticated dialogue between the old and the new, between heritage and modernity.
Besides the numerous public art interventions he has been creating in various countries, he has also been showcasing his work in solo and group exhibitions in reputed galleries and museums. Diogo Machado lives and works in Cascais, Portugal.
Gallery Exhibitions
2020, “One World”
2020, “New Rules”
2023, “A P O P H E N I A” (solo)
“ITER”, Galerie Itinerrance, Paris, France – SOLO
URBAN (R)EVOLUTION, Cordoaria Nacional, Lisboa, Portugal
“MINI SOLO”, National Tile Museum, Lisboa, Portugal – SOLO
“YOUTH ETERNAL”, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, USA – SOLO
BLINK, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Lisbonne sur Seine, Paris, France
Urban Week, Paris, France
Beyond Walls, Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
Djerbahood, Djerba, Tunisia
“CHRONOS REDUX”, Underdogs Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal – SOLO
Wynwood Walls, Miami, Florida, USA
The Crystal Ship, Ostend, Belgium
“Hidden In Plain Sight”, Unit44 Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
“Papers Please”, Colab Gallery, Weil am Rhein, Germany
“Iminente Festival”, Lisbon, Portugal
“New Rules”, Castanier Gallery, Miami, USA
“FALU Festival”, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
“Conversas na Rua”, Amadora, Portugal
“Deuxième Désintégration” Galerie Itinerrance | Paris, France – SOLO
“Paint Red Save Lives” Lyon, France
“Beyond Walls” Lynn, USA
“Writers Block” Leeuwarden, Netherlands
“Civita Street Fest” Civita, Italy
“Maya Angelou Mural Festival” Los Angeles, USA
“Popeye 90th Anniversary Exhibition” Beijing, China
“XVII-XXI” Station 16 Gallery | Montreal, Canada – SOLO
“Juxtapoz Clubhouse” Miami, USA
“Basel House Mural Festival” Miami, USA
“Crush Walls, Denver’s Urban Art Festival” Denver, USA
“Alter Ego, Annual Arts Exhibition between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries” Macau, China
“Tanto Mar. Fluxos Transatlânticos do Design” MUDE Museum | Lisbon, Portugal
“Something old, something new, something borrowed” Underdogs Gallery | Lisbon, Portugal – SOLO
“Revolutions Per Minute” Saatchi Gallery | London, UK
“Hand Luggage Only” Nuart Gallery | Stavanger, Norway
“Nuart Aberdeen Festival” Aberdeen, UK
“A Better View” ABV Gallery | Atlanta, USA
“Post Street Art” Tou Scene, Stavanger, Norway
“Nuart Festival” Stavanger, Norway
“Sacramento Mural Fest” Sacramento, USA
“Festival Muraliza” Cascais, Portugal
“Muros Tabacalera” Madrid, Spain
“Festival Muro” Lisbon, Portugal
“PUBLIC’16” Perth, Australia
“352walls” Gainesville, USA
“Rough Cast” Colab Gallery | Weil am Rhein, Germany
“Forgotten Project” Rome, Italy
“Festival Muraliza” Cascais, Portugal
“Urban Now” Metamorfose Gallery | Porto, Portugal
“Concentricum” Mercearia de Arte | Coimbra, Portugal – SOLO
“SOMA” Underdogs Gallery | Lisbon, Portugal
“Djerbahood” Djerba, Tunisia
“Mar Motto” Montana Gallery | Lisbon, Portugal
“International Colors” Galerie SOON | Zurich, Switzerland
“WOOL on residence” Covilhã, Portugal
“Festival Muraliza” Cascais, Portugal
“ARTURb Residency” LAC | Lagos, Portugal
“Fusing Festival” Figueira da Foz, Portugal
“Le M.U.R.” Mulhouse, France
“Tour Paris 13” Paris, France
“Spaces Within” Pure Evil Gallery | London, UK – SOLO
“Urban Art LX” Influx Contemporary Art | Lisbon, Portugal
“Planet Fire” Montana Gallery | Lisbon, Portugal – SOLO
“LA Artwalk” The Medallion | Los Angeles, USA
“Push Click” Montana Gallery | Lisbon, Portugal
“Back to School 2022” Restart | Lisbon, Portugal – SOLO
“Sweet Cuts” Lisbon, Portugal – SOLO
“Burnt” Together Gallery | Portland, USA
“Sleight of Hand” Recoat Gallery | Glasgow, UK
“Red Bull Street Gallery” Lisbon, Portugal
“MadTurnip’s Madgic Trexi Custom Toy Design” Paris, France