As you take a walk through Lisbon or Porto, you will notice many buildings covered in traditional glazed tiles. They are called azulejo tiles and they’ve been around forever, inspiring many people with their colorful patterns. One of them is Diogo Machado, a talented street artist who puts his own twist on this traditional art form.
He skilfully merges multiple designs into one, creating patchwork-like artwork that celebrates the traditional blue-and-white tiles. He uses curved lines to resemble the ironwork that initially inspired Portuguese tiles. Floral patterns, as he tells Matador Network, are also a well-known feature of this art form.
“Then there’s the chromatic itself, which makes it also connected to a very Portuguese style, being white and blue. So it’s a mixture, and that also contributes to this very particular feeling of being something new versus traditional—but still keeping the traditional, but also new. It’s a cycle,” the outlet quotes him.
It’s easy to mistake his art for common tile designs, which means he’s doing a good job at mimicking the traditional parts of them. Once you’re aware of his magnificent work, you’ll spot them with ease and enjoy the playful twist he puts on them.
