PROFILE: Mateu Velasco

Mateu Velasco was born in New York City in 1980, but spent the better part of his life living and working in Rio de Janeiro. He has a master degree from the prestigious Pontifícia Universidade Católica, one of Rio’s premier Arts and Design universities and also a talent on the street art scene. The experimental style Velasco created over years of painting on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Paris, Lisbon and Budapest, has a direct influence on the artist’s gallery and illustration work. He is one of a small group of multimedia artists from Brazil’s arts capital who have caught the attention of international collectors in recent years.

His frequent solo shows at Rio’s Galeria Movimento, one of the city’s most progressive galleries, draw an equal mix of fellow street artists, emerging contemporary talent, and both newly arrived and seasoned collectors.

Velasco’s artistic production melds high art concepts with graphic design techniques in a seamless manner. This makes him a highly sought after artist for a range of quality products and visual campaigns. His paintings are as likely to be seen on the walls in Rio or the gallery wall as they are in one of the campaigns for major lifestyle brands like Ambev, Nike, Converse, and Totem.​

To view the PDF Project Book which captures the sequence of Mateu’s etching states for the image “Untitled”, click the link below.​