Mixed Media · Works on Paper · Jewelry and Wearable Art
Mateo Ibarra
Oaxaca, Mexico
“Material has its own memory, and I try not to speak over it.”
Biography
Mateo Ibarra grew up around family workshops that moved easily between paper, wood, clay, and festival ornament. His abstract works retain that material openness while resisting direct symbolism.
Artist statement
I look for structures that feel excavated rather than designed. The work develops through stains, pressure, and fragments that refuse to become an illustration.
In the studio
Ibarra layers handmade paper with charcoal dust, earth pigment, and thin veils of acrylic. Edges are sanded, resealed, and occasionally stitched with waxed thread. He occasionally carries those layered structures into patinated cuffs and other body-scale objects.
