Pablo Francisco Matute (b.1999) is a visual artist based in Miami, deeply influenced by his personal experiences growing up in South Florida. Growing up, both of his parents were general contractors and would often bring along him and his brother to these sites where Matute was exposed to a lot of the process and what went into creating homes. These formative experiences working with construction materials, witnessing labor, and being immersed in a range of textures and surfaces have become integral to his practice. Pablo’s art recontextualizes these materials and memories, capturing the essence of South Florida’s community and the rich cultural tapestry.
Matute’s work explores themes of identity and memory. Using his experiences around these labor-intensive environments allows him to capture the layers of experience, evoking the complexity of the Latino workforce and the labor that shapes our spaces. Using unconventional surfaces, such as sheetrock and wood against a transparent medium like charcoal to mirror the essence of memory creates a conversation between medium, surface, and image. Allowing him to capture the layers of experience, evoking the complexities of immigrant life and the labor that shapes our spaces.