Born in 1992 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Tarik spent most of his childhood making art. Later moved to the United States of America when he was 10 years old. While he never attended art school, he learned by wandering through New York galleries and museums growing up. Drawing inspirations from unexpected places, scribbling his own versions of cartoons, comic books, and most time creating his own toys to play with. Although he did not know how to speak English after moving to the USA, he spent most of his time drawing while looking out
of windows. Windows were arguably exerted the most influence on Tarik. His lifelong fascination with net screen in windows later manifested into his own work years later. Tarik explores both the power and vulnerability of net screen in his work.
At the age of 21 years old in 2013, Tarik begin to pursue a full-time career in New York City as a multi-medium disciplinary artist. After a few commissions of his work onto clothing and bags, Tarik begins to develop the possibility of a wearable art brand. Soon after he begins to pursue TelaModa LLC, which is a one-of-a-kind luxury fashion brand that combines the very best in luxury fashion and the latest trends in fine arts, to create customized wearable art for the customer. Tarik idea’s was to have a wholesale and direct-to-consumer brand. After two years in development, TelaModa was launched in 2015.
Although TelaModa LLC didn’t have a physical location, it was operated from Tarik’s art studio in midtown Manhattan. While collaborating with retailers in New York City for pop-ups or special wearable art events. TelaModa, which can be literally translated as “canvas fashion” consisted of handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, accessories, and totes. TelaModa also featured a unique sales customization option. Where consumers could select a piece of clothing, designed to have it painted onto their items. Making each piece a true-of-a-kind wearable art item. As well as having the option to mail in an item the consumer wanted to be customized.
While Tarik led the team at TelaModa LLC, he was also pursuing his artistic career as a multi-medium artist. Tarik’s medium mostly consists of multi-disciplinary mediums. Such as paintings, sculptures, photography, furniture, drawings, and mixed media. Tarik begin
constructing canvas structures fully made out of the net screen, each one custom made and built by Tarik himself.
Tarik’s creative process was sort of an uncalculated improvisation using several mediums and techniques to create his art. Using mostly construction materials along with paint, oil sticks, spray paint, among other items. By emphasizing aesthetics, Mendes seduces the
viewer into a world of ongoing equilibrium and the interval that articulates the good and the ugly of daily life. His works are notable for their textured finish and colorful nature. This is of great importance and bears witness to great craftsmanship. By applying abstraction, he considers making art a craft that is executed using clear formal rules and which should always refer to social reality.
After TelaModa, Tarik begin having an interested in creating an artsy stationery line. Soon after the launch of TelaModa LLC in 2015, Tarik followed up with TelaModaPrints LLC only a year later in 2016. TelaModaPrints consisted of over 400 greeting cards designs, gift
tags, place cards and canvas tote bags all designed and created by Tarik himself. With the same customization options consumer could obtain from TelaModa they were also available at TelaModaPrints. Being able to customize an already existing card design from the
collection or being able to create a full personalized design through the TelaModaPrints website.
TelaModaprints designs can be found in both nationally and internationally retailers’ stores. Popular stores/gift shops such as Museum of Arts and Design, Museum of the City of New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, IC Store by WantedDesign, FIDM Museum Shop, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Museum of Nebraska Gift Shop, and many more.
Tarik works on multiple projects at once in his studio, describing himself as a 24/7 creative artist. He keeps multiples net screen canvas in his studio, operating from one project to the other.
Since Tarik builds all of his net screen frames from scratch; adding multiple layers of texture can take days to fully dry, so he works on various projects at once. While one canvas dries, he paints on another, then adds touches to his sculptures and much more. What started early in his career as just net screen paintings, today has transformed into interior design pieces.
Tarik began adding LED lights at the very start of his artistic career behind his paintings, which later on led to his interest in experimenting in creating light fixtures all the way to chairs and couches. Although he started with creating his own net screen canvas textured medium, he furthered his work with resin and spray foam developing them into paintings as well as custom frames.
He has created thousands of artworks, ranging from paintings all the way to interior design pieces. All of his work can be found on his website. Tarik currently works and lives in New York City.
Statement:
I often project my feelings to explore self-awareness and personal spirituality. The process of making and contemplating allows me to present artwork that tells a story. My artwork looks as if they have experienced a troubled past, telling a story through the materials used. The work is a place I reflect and where I like to share it with others.
My artwork is a process of creating everything from scratch, from paintings to sculpture and more. Often the creative process is often repeated over and over to carve out and create a quiet introspection where I work tirelessly with my hands while my mind wanders off in meditation. The choice to create with multi mediums materials, from normal paints to construction materials like sand, adhesive helps to
create a unique piece with multiple colors and textures. This helps to explore the relationships between the work and the materials used to create the work.
In order to create work with a stronger conceptual foundation, I contemplated why I was drawn to this subject and how my experiences with nature influenced my life and work. I think about creativity as an intuitive process in which I allow my work to evolve and respond to itself as it develops and I give my materials a fluid and organic treatment so that they will mimic the natural development of something over time.
All of my larger work take on a grandiose scale of natural formations to invoke a sense of being part of something bigger than yourself as well as to connect the process and materials to human experience. By using common art supplies, I keep my work connected to nature and give the work an environment to exist in. Alternatively, working with synthetic materials represents more of an invasive element that I want to depict. Combining both natural and synthetic art materials helps to create an inherent conversation between what is real and what is fabricated.