Tommy Washbush
Liubóv Szwako in his studio.
Room to operate: The expansive space allows plenty of room for storage of tools, materials, and finished and in-progress pieces. Szwako mainly paints on birch panel, heavy canvas, and thick watercolor paper. He uses a variety of methods, including wedges, smudging, rollers, spray paint, ‘just all sorts of shit, man.’
Beyond the doors and down the back stairwell at an unassuming store on Willy Street lies a secret — Liubóv Szwako’s studio, where he paints, plans and experiments. “I like that it’s hidden, soundproof, I can literally go ham, get messy and it’s OK,” he says.
Szwako, aka Triangulador, is known city-wide as a muralist and prolific mattress painter (as featured on Isthmus’ August 2023 cover). Originally from Mexico City, he’s made Madison his home for about a decade.
Per an agreement with the store owner, who previously used the basement for storage, Szwako has been utilizing this space for more than a year. What’s missing? “No daylight, bro. No windows. That’s a requirement for the next studio,” he says.
Szwako works with a variety of media, using mostly acrylic and spray paint, but he also dabbles in digital art and woodworking. He also has a T-shirt screenprinting setup, which he has yet to use. The lack of a sink/wash station makes that impractical right now. “Do you know a plumber?” he asks.
Screenprinting doesn’t necessarily fit Szwako’s style anyway. “I don’t have anything reproduced, everything’s a one-off original,” he says.
Szwako is currently wrapping up a mural at the Moxy Madison Downtown hotel, set to open at the end of March at 823 E. Washington Ave. See more of his work at triangulador.com, or @triangulador on Instagram.
Tommy Washbush
Liubóv Szwako's spray paint collection.
Stocked: Szwako has an estimated 200-300 cans of spray paint on hand, and another 450 empties he’s saving to use on a future art project. He mainly uses German Montana spray paint, the industry standard. A high quality respirator is a must in this space. ‘I need a ventilation guy,’ he says.
Tommy Washbush
One of Liubóv Szwako's finished paintings.
Gallery Ready: A 6-foot-tall untitled finished piece is representative of Szwako’s style. Spray paint, acrylic, and experimental mediums, including glass bead, crackle paste, and heavy matte paste, give it a rich texture.
Tommy Washbush
A spray paint practice wall in Liubóv Szwako's studio.
Practice makes perfect: It’s rare for artists to have a space to practice spray painting. Szwako eventually wants to fund some public walls where budding artists could hone their can skills. ‘I would love to be the one to make this happen. I see so much potential in people just practicing.’
