Visual artist Catarina Mata Follow.Art Card

About me

Catarina Marques Mata is a textile artist and researcher whose practice explores the intersection between algorithmic processes and textile materiality. With an initial background in Civil Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto, she transitioned to fine arts, where the systematic thinking of engineering finds material expression through textiles.
She completed her Master’s in Fine Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto, in 2024 with a final grade of 18 out of 20, having received 19 out of 20 in the public presentation of her dissertation Narrativas (Des)Harmónicas – Composições Recursivas em Objetos Teados (Dis-Harmonic Narratives – Recursive Compositions in Woven Objects), presented at the FBAUP Museum.
Her work investigates how recursive systems and algorithms manifest when translated from the virtual to the manual, from code to weave. Through techniques such as embroidery, ecoprint, weaving, and copper wire work, she develops compositions where rules do not eliminate expression but make it possible.
The line is the central element of her investigation. In drawing, it becomes a mark; in textiles, it gains body, volume, physical presence. Each piece proposes a dialogue between system and matter, questioning the boundaries between systematic thought and material expression.
She works under the brand MARMA, based in Porto