ADD FUEL is the artistic persona of Diogo Machado, a Portuguese visual artist born in 1980. Machado graduated with a degree in Graphic Design from Lisbon's IADE – Creative University. After working in design studios in Portugal for several years, he spent eight months in Munich, Germany, before fully dedicating himself to his artistic endeavors starting in 2007.

Originally known as Add Fuel to the Fire, Machado established a distinct visual style characterized by a dark yet vibrant universe populated by a cast of eccentric, joyful creatures. His influences range from video games, comics, and animation to sci-fi, designer toys, and urban visual culture.

In 2008, drawn to the aesthetic possibilities of symmetrical patterning and tessellations, Machado shortened his moniker to Add Fuel and began exploring and reinterpreting traditional tile design, particularly the Portuguese tin-glazed ceramic azulejo. His current artistic practice seamlessly merges traditional decorative elements with contemporary visual cues, resulting in new forms that showcase remarkable complexity and meticulous attention to detail.

While his work may initially appear to be a homage to classic formalism, closer examination reveals a chaotic world of original motifs and characters filled with deep emotions. Machado's compositions utilize symmetrical repetitions, layering techniques, and visual illusions such as trompe-l'œil to create a poetic rhythm that engages viewers and invites multiple interpretations.

Machado's artistic exploration spans a broad spectrum of manual and digital techniques, encompassing drawing, painting, ceramics, and printing. His practice represents a sophisticated dialogue between the past and present, bridging heritage with modernity.

In addition to numerous public art projects in various countries, Machado's work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at esteemed galleries and museums worldwide.

Diogo Machado currently resides and works in Cascais, Portugal.

Add Fuel

Portuguese

Recognised for their skill at creating connections between painting and sculpture in urban settings, they adopt a thoroughly innovative approach in their artistic fusions. A balanced combination of classical art and the most contemporary urban art can be identified in their work. From the outset PichiAvo shunned artistic individuality, joining forces to create an absolutely unique body of work using a conceptually urban idiom, both in the street and studio.

They trained in Fine Art and in Design and met on the graffiti art scene in Valencia, forming the PichiAvo duo in 2007. From that moment they worked on developing joint projects, pursuing an unremitting search for a style of their own. To achieve this they went through various stages as painters, focusing initially on skill and technique until they reached the point of needing to express themselves through what most defines them: graffiti and classical art.

Since 2015 PichiAvo have carried out projects at some of the leading venues in international urban art, including the legendary Houston Bowery Wall in New York (2017), where theirs was the first painting intervention by European artists. In April 2019 they executed the second largest mural in the world in the city of Porto, in collaboration with the celebrated artist Vhils.

PichiAvo’s career has attained artistic recognition, critical acclaim and popularity on an international scale, establishing them among the most prominent street artists on the current urban art scene.