Visual Artist & Textile Designer. Teacher.

The dialectic between design and experimentation, or between planning and spontaneity, forms the core around which my work is structured.

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Federico Antelo
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Currently based in Madrid.

I am a visual artist, textile artist & designer, and educator in art and design. I graduated from the National School of Fine Arts Prilidiano Pueyrredón in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with complementary studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

Since the beginning of my professional career, I have combined artistic activity with teaching, primarily in the university setting, having taught at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Condé-Nast College Spain, ETSAM Madrid, and IED Madrid, among others.

In 2015, I opened my studio in Madrid, a laboratory for experimentation and artistic creation focused on textile research and artisanal printing processes. From the studio, I work both on the production of my creative work—centred on conceptualization and reflection on the elements of visual language and their potential interactions on textile surfaces—and on pieces intended for use in projects related to various areas of design.

Among these design-related projects, the close collaboration with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid stands out, where I have been developing exclusive collections continuously since 2016.

I have held solo exhibitions in both Argentina and Spain, and my work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions and art and design festivals. Particularly noteworthy are my recent textile installation projects exhibited during the past three editions of the Madrid Design Festival.

As an artist, my practice seeks to generate new aesthetic possibilities derived from using techniques inherent to textile language, aiming to create spaces for exploration, dialogue, and fusion between art and design.

The pieces I produce emerge from the interplay between meticulous planning and sheer spontaneity. The process often begins with diagramming and structuring the surface, searching for and articulating formal elements. Everything else happens while printing it, as colours and shapes intertwine and transform on the textile surface, introducing variations to the original scheme. Thus, it is never a mechanical process but rather a creative, thoughtful, and reflective one, where changes to the initial plan arise as a direct consequence of working on the fabric's surface.

This journey between idea and transformation through experimentation is what sustains and drives my work. A fundamental part of my practice involves research and hands-on engagement with materials, mastering techniques, and reflecting on processes.

Alongside my studio work, I have been teaching at IED Madrid since 2016. Currently, in addition to my teaching responsibilities, I serve as the Director of the Fashion School at the institution.
My teaching spans from strictly theoretical realms to practical and experimental work, with a particular focus on creative processes applied to design.

SOLO & COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS / DESIGN FESTIVALS (Selection)

2024 Porcelanosa + SACo. Earth Crafted Designs. Collective. Porcelanosa, Milan, Italy.

2024 Doble Suspendido at Gancedo. Madrid Design Festival MDF24. Solo exhibition. Gancedo, Madrid, Spain.

2024 Entre Telas y Ladrillos. Gancedo x Tetuán Crea. Madrid Design Festival MDF24. Collective. ILE, Madrid, Spain.

2024 Kutrix Gallery. Art & Design Collective Exhibition. Madrid Design Festival MDF24. Madrid, Spain.

2024 Tetuán Crea at The Social Hub. Collective. Madrid Design Festival MDF24. Madrid, Spain.

2024 El Arte Invisible de la Moda. Madrid Fashion Week. Installation Art. Collective. Plaza de Colón. Madrid, Spain.

2024 MAZDA + SACo. Collaboratio. Collective. Palacio de Santa Bárbara, Madrid, Spain.

2023 MAZDA + SACo. Rasgos Intangibles. Collective. Palacio de Santa Bárbara, Madrid, Spain.

2022 SACo at Maison & Object. Collective. Paris, France.

2022 Paisajes Solares Caleidoscopios Estelares. Solo exhibition. La Recova, Madrid, Spain.

2022 Vitral. Madrid Design Festival MDF22. Solo exhibition. Only You Hotel, Madrid, Spain.

2022 MAZDA + SACo + The Sibarist. Collective. El Invernadero, Madrid, Spain.

2021 Madrid Design Portrait. Romanian Design Week. Collective. Bucharest, Romania.

2021 Extracto de Proceso. Madrid Design Portrait. Madrid Design Festival MDF21. Collective. Teatro Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de La Villa, Madrid, Spain.

2021 Serendipia. Hallazgos Concatenados. Solo exhibition. La Recova, Madrid, Spain.

2019 Pensamientos Sobre el Jardín. Solo exhibition. Colegio de Aparejadores de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

2018 Limits. Textile Exhibition. Collective. Sala de Máquinas, Madrid, Spain.

2016 Reflexiones. Solo exhibition. ArtRoom Galería, Madrid, Spain.

2015 Mapas Azarosas Migraciones. Grupo Obras en Papel. Collective. Imaginario Galería de Arte. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2010 To Gild. Solo exhibition. Galería el Cuarto Simpático, Madrid, Spain.

2008 X Edición Premio Joven UCM. Collective. Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid, Spain.

2001 Italia-Argentina / Argentina-Italia. Collective. Arte Struktura, Milan, Italy.

2001 I Was Here. Solo exhibition. Arteria Galería de Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

SPECIAL PROJECTS (selection)

2024 A Silk Scarf for MDF24. Special commission for Madrid Design Festival 2024.

2023 Lo Que Hay En Un Cubo. Special commission for the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum.Madrid, Spain.

2019 Seseña x Federico Antelo. Capsule Collection for Capas Seseña. Madrid, Spain.

2018 Bañistas. Special commission for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Madrid, Spain.

2016 Delaunay. Special commission for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Madrid, Spain.

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