Zé Monteiro

Zé Monteiro, printmaker and official People of Print Member is relatively new to the world of screenprinting and isn’t afraid to admit it. Much like a squeegee’s, he tells us, his relationship with printing has had its comings and goings. The uncertainty of wild brushing some films to get a vibrant and uncertain print, the challenge of combining the colours, the tweaking and the unnecessary tweak, the texture… and of course showing the actual print.

Monterio started to print in school before University, which led him to a summer internship in his teacher’s studio. A couple of years later, having his Erasmus semester in Southampton, he found himself in a print room with all the ink and paper he could use. A kid in an all-you-can-eat-for-free candy store would be an understatement. A lot of “just 10 more minutes” were said before the technicians would throw him out of the room day after day.

After returning to Lisbon, Zé had to build his own printing screen and homemade set. Trial and error, a lot of book reading and video tutorials were involved in this process. “Shout-out to all of you YouTubers who shared your insights! Finally, I’ve made my homemade studio to work reasonably well”, he says.

Now finding himself back in the UK, London is his base as he builds his dream of becoming an established printer. Well on his way, Monteiro has started an internship at Jealous Gallery and as a screen technician at 3rd Rail Clothing. Keep your eyes peeled for what will happen next on this adventure.

To close, Monteiro announces “hey, I’m always down for a good project so, if you have a ground-breaking idea feel free to drop me a line and share. I’ve always wanted to print with edible ink, for example. Could I add any flavour to it?” — Zé

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