PAYSAGE SAUVAGE

Artistic Residency and Solo show in collaboration with Mosaic Factory

Tanger, Morocco / Mosaic Factory Showroom, Lisbon, Portugal — November 2023

From the geometric shapes, the balance between the figurative and the abstract, and the creative DNA that characterizes AKACORLEONE so well, comes the latest project: Paysage Sauvage, created in partnership with MOSAIC FACTORY.

This collaboration translates into the signing of a new collection of mosaics designed by the artist, whose designs will be included in the catalog of the international tile company MOSAIC FACTORY. It also involves the creation of 5 new large-scale sculptures by the artist and produced by the Moroccan company, marking the company's first foray into the production of original works of art.

This is a concept that comes from the crossroads between real imagination, experimental design and geometry, resulting in a mixed journey between the universe and identity of the Portuguese artist and the landscapes of Tangier. In this colorful journey, the Paysage Sauvage collection was born, which translates the desire to create original works in different materials (granite, marble, cement, among others) multiplied in the potential of a mathematical scenario where the patterns convey various possible paths in an illustrative way.

Between functionality and originality, between the balance of mineral textures and plastic color blocks, there's also a contrast between the saturation and the physicality of the materials, where each new combination represents the possibility of a path and a new scenario, sometimes real, sometimes drawn by imagination.

By joining this project, AKACORLEONE became the first Portuguese artist to collaborate with the Moroccan brand, resulting in the creation of five original sculptural pieces that eventually unfolded into seven tiles. This highly detailed collaboration took a total of one year to develop and aimed to inspire the Portuguese artist by working with a multiplicity of materials.

I started by visiting the MOSAIC FACTORY showroom in Lisbon and understanding the techniques they use, explains AKACORLEONE.

I sought to draw maximum inspiration from the raw materials the company used, and even from the colors. It was a blend of what was available in the catalog and my own identity. In the end, I ended up choosing and developing original pieces, inspired by my visual universe.

AKACOLEONE's first step in this process was to discover the range of available options and find a way to explore the equivalences, stepping out of its comfort zone and embracing the challenge while conceptualizing something new - a characteristic he always looks for in every collaboration it undertakes.

At the culmination of this creative process, the artist did an artistic residency in Tangier at the MOSAIC FACTORY workshops, where he was able to learn directly from the master craftsmen and observe their production methods.