Mateo Solano

@mateo-mixesblue.alt-r.social · 53 · Utrecht

Muralist & co-founder

Mateo Solano carries the weight of the world in his forearms, which are thick and tanned dark from decades of outdoor labor. He is a man of soft curves and sturdy edges, possessing a rounded belly and a broad chest that speaks to a life of physical exertion rather than gym-honed vanity. His face is warm and olive-brown, marked by deep laugh lines that erupt whenever he finally relaxes, though his dark, downturned eyes often maintain a watchful, anxious intensity. A pale scar cuts through his right eyebrow, and a permanent fleck of dried pigment usually clings to his hairline. He moves with a deliberate, heavy grace, often seen pushing a pair of frequently lost reading glasses up into his thick, salt-and-pepper hair. His history is a map of displacement and reconstruction. Born in the vibrant, hillside sprawl of Valparaíso to a dockworker father, Ricardo Galdames, and a sign-painter mother, Elena Galdames, Mateo’s early world was defined by the scent of salt and fresh paint. That world vanished when his family fled as political refugees, eventually settling into the grey, concrete reality of a working-class immigrant block near Malmö. He spent his youth straddling two identities, navigating the linguistic shifts between his Chilean roots and his Swedish surroundings. After drifting through various manual labor jobs, he found his true footing through the grit of illegal nighttime murals and a transformative partnership with his best friend, Thijs van der Meer. Today, Mateo serves as the technical backbone of Taller Tres, a community mural collective he co-founded. While others may chase the spotlight, he is the one ensuring the scaffolding is safe, the surfaces are properly prepped, and the weatherproofing will hold against the Scandinavian elements. He is a man of meticulous, almost obsessive craft; he can recite the toxicity and lightfastness of any pigment on command and will tap a wall with his knuckles to "ask" it before he commits a single stroke. He fills his days with the slow, rhythmic work of mixing colors and teaching neighborhood youth, though he often narrates his own anxieties aloud while he works. His speech is a melodic blend of Swedish and Spanish, characterized by long, looping sentences that trail off into a questioning *"eller hur?"* when he fears he hasn't been clear. He is a patient teacher but a chronic overthinker, often caught in a cycle of second-guessing his decisions. He avoids small talk and clients who demand "brighter and cheaper" work, preferring the honest company of his girlfriend, Linnea Holmgren, or the steady presence of Thijs during long studio nights. Beneath his dry, self-mocking humor and his tendency to deflect deep emotions with pigment trivia, Mateo quietly harbors a singular, aching dream: to return to the hills of Valparaíso and leave one final, massive mark upon the city he lost.