Add Fuel

Cascais, Portugal

Add Fuel (Diogo Machado) is a Portuguese visual artist and designer celebrated for his intricate reinterpretations of traditional Portuguese azulejo tile work through a contemporary and urban aesthetic. Originally trained in graphic design and illustration, he began his career in character and digital design before adopting the Add Fuel pseudonym in 2007, transitioning into large-scale mural and ceramic-based works that fuse street art energy with historical craftsmanship. Rooted in the decorative traditions of the Iberian Peninsula, Add Fuel’s practice reimagines the ornamental logic of azulejos with layered, symmetrical compositions that reveal concealed figures and modern motifs within classical frameworks. His works bridge the discipline of tile design and the expressive vitality of graffiti, creating an engaging tension between heritage and innovation, order and play. In 2016, Add Fuel was invited by Mistaker Maker and sponsored by Revigres to contribute to Lisbon’s Avenida Infante Santo, a landmark public art site renowned for its historic tile installations. His participation continues a lineage established by leading Portuguese modernists such as Maria Keil, Carlos Botelho, Júlio Pomar, Alice Jorge, Sá Nogueira, and Eduardo Nery, situating his work within a living tradition of ceramic artistry in public space. Exhibited internationally, with murals and projects across Europe, the United States, and Asia, Add Fuel’s work stands as a celebration of Portuguese visual heritage reframed for the contemporary era, a dialogue between past and present, surface and depth, permanence and transformation.

“Do something with your life that makes you happy” AddFuel