Portuguese artist Add Fuel, famous for his urban take on the Portuguese Azulejo tile, has revealed a hand-painted ceramic tile work of art titled PATCH: WORKED in collaboration with the prestigious Viúva Lamego for the Luster Hotel with Saraiva e Associados.
The immersive installation was specially commissioned for the new Luster Hotel in Lisbon, and Add Fuel was invited to use tile designs from Viúva Lamego’s stock catalogue, with the art nouveau chromatic.
Founded in Lisbon in 1849, Viúva Lamego was one of the first ceramic factories in Portugal, originally the pottery workshop of António Costa Lamego. The factory combines centuries of history and craft with some of the greatest creative minds from the worlds of design, architecture and fine art, such as Casa da Música by Rem Koolhaas; chef José Avillez’s Bairro do Avillez designed by Anahory Almeida and Henriette Arcelin; the Portuguese National Pavilion by Álvaro Siza Vieira; and the mural ‘O Mar’ by Maria Keil to name a few. Further notable collaborators include Aires Mateus, Eduardo Souto De Moura, Jorge Barradas, Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama and most recently, ADD FUEL.
ADD FUEL worked with artisans from Viúva Lamego to create the statement piece for the new Luster hotel. PATCH: WORKED can be found in the reception area and welcomes guests and visitors with beautiful creative design. The muted autumnal palette of golden brown, sage green and tan is in line with the chromatic preferences of Art Nouveau. A tapestry of ages, with differing gradients mimicking waves of movement, produces a wall full of life that captures your attention.
Titled ‘PATCHWORK’, this Viúva Lamego collection uses the tile’s characteristic diversity to create custom panels from the combination of preselected sets of 25 tiles each.
The traditional handcraft of Portuguese tiles continues thanks to the Viúva Lamego, and artists such as ADD FUEL, who embrace tradition while continuing to innovate, their vision for the environment leaves a lasting impression.
The installation
Photo Credit Mike Doorline