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Domingo Geronimo Mattle (b.1995) is an internationally recognized artist based in vorarlberg, austria. his practice moves fluidly between movement, image, and social space rooted in breaking, shaped by graffiti, and expanded through conceptual frameworks. After early success in the global breaking scene and formative exchanges with pioneers in the bronx, his visual language evolved into a multidisciplinary dialogue across art and culture.
Hi Domingo! It’s a pleasure to sit down with you! First question that I always ask. How does a regular day look like for you in Vorarlberg, Austria?
Domingo: Waking up and off to the studio – if i’m not in the studio or doing work related stuff spending time with wifey and kids .
I’m curious, growing up what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
Domingo: Free and out with friends playing soccer, doing dumb stuff basically all you can ask for growing up – not the best in school but curiouos and hungry to learn.
Do you remember aproximately at what age your creative side started to show?
Domingo: I just found some paintings my mother stored from when I was 4-5 – lots of death and crazy stuff in them cant really remember what was going on but I think early I had painting and different forms to creatively express myself with 8 I started breaking. That’s really when everything took off. then with 12 became a writer.
You were only 8 when you started breakdancing and just 13 when you went international as B-Boy Domingo with Prodigyy Crew. What’s one moment from those early global travels that still sticks with you today?
Domingo: The stage moments fade. What stays is us sleeping under Italian stars, chased out of hotels for fire extinguisher mischief, performing in the street to survive, stealing cereal to eat. Success was never the applause—it was the chaos, the crew.
And then at 14, you go to New York, to learn from breakdance pioneers. What was it like being a teenager soaking up that culture in the Bronx, and who left the biggest impact on you?
Domingo: Willie Estrada gave us an amazing tour of the bronx that was fire for sure – also remember my crew mates getting me into a coldcush brothers kurtis blow concert don’t remember the club or location but- random skater on the toilet asked me if I was a writer and gave me a marker lol – It was all a lucid dream wrapped in concrete and boom bap.
You mention meeting legends like Mr. Wiggles from Rocksteady Crew at events worldwide. What was that hotel room lesson in Austria like—teaching you graffiti denim jackets and gesso—and how did it feel to get his leftover paint?
Domingo: I felt like a god – paintmarkes gesso and spraypaint – that was like Christmas to me – Wigz had a huge impact as a Dancer and writer I remember he had a website back then called http://trainwriters.com , this was pre-algorithm, when knowledge felt like stolen treasure.
Painting jackets for your crew and others sounds like a hustle! What was your favorite design you ever made back then, and do any of those jackets still exist?
Domingo: Archiving was never the mission—living was. But one jacket survived and lives in the Vorarlberg Museum now, if they still got it . It was archived by them I think 8 years ago but who knows what happens to museum storage anyways right ? (only trust mums when it comes to archives).
You picked up graffiti at 12, inspired by the OGs. How did that first tag or piece feel, and what was it about their style that lit that fire in you?
Domingo: Just FREEDOM really – going out and influencing architecture and real world structures as a young boy was insane. Like hacking on top of reality in real time.
Ok Domingo, with these next series of questions, I will try to delve into your work as best as possible. So… You’ve transitioned from breakdance battles to graffiti and now contemporary art exhibitions. What drives you to keep evolving creatively, and how do these worlds connect in your work?
Domingo: All these forms are just dialects of the same language. Movement. Expression. Code-switching between disciplines to say things too big for one format. If I ever get too comfortable, I know I’m lost.
Shifting from breakdancing and graffiti to oil painting and art direction after 18 is a big leap. What sparked that pivot, and how did your street roots shape your approach to the canvas?
Domingo: I needed a new hustle. A way to translate spirit into sustainability. PS it still isn’t sustainable but a good start to the lie.
Looking back at that teenage whirlwind—dancing, painting, traveling—how do you think it built the foundation for the artist you’ve become now?
Domingo: It gave me mirrors. So many cultures, so many rooms—each one reflecting a version of me I hadn’t met yet. I don’t separate the “me” from the moment or the people in it. It’s all one big spiral of insight and illusion.
You’ve got this mix of raw street energy and refined artistic practice. Is there a piece from your oil painting days that feels like it bridges those two worlds?
Domingo: I feel the newer airbrush works of old Aztec sculptures some generated others just pictures but painted in airbrush like I used to do shirts on raw canvas with no primer just leaving the raw nature and room for mistakes combine the 2 worlds in a great way.
From a kid breaking at 8 to mentoring youth today, what’s one lesson from your journey you love passing on to the next generation?
Domingo: You’re already in the simulation—might as well switch characters and enjoy the glitch. Belief is the key that unlocks every door. Dream big.
Your philosophy, “Less Perfection = More Beauty,” is intriguing. Can you tell us a story behind how that idea came to life in one of your pieces?
Domingo: Perfection is a lie we tell to hide from the fun. Imperfection? That’s the truth bleeding through. Love wins
From New York’s Bronx to exhibitions in Hong Kong and LA, how have your global travels influenced your art and your take on hip-hop culture?
Domingo: YES, I LOVE IT EVEN MORE THAN ON DAY ONE ! Global graffiti—same soul, different spices. It made me fall in love with it all over again. I saw hip-hop as a diaspora of spirit. Each place showed me a different version of home.
You’ve previously said, “Emotion is Currency.” How do you tap into that emotional energy when you’re creating, and what’s one piece where it really hit home for you?
Domingo: I cant really answer this.
Ok Domingo, I know that you recently held your latest exhibition, and the project was for an Art Fair in Austria, which involved flags and kebabs. Tell me about that…
Domingo: They canceled my flag for being “too kebab.” So I hit the normal group to help (don’t really know who they are) – we ordered 90 kebabs and served them in front of the fair acting like workers of the fair. It was and wasn’t food lol — it was a question wrapped in aluminum foil.
So how did you come up with this idea? And what was your thought process behind it?
Domingo: The original idea was just supporting the local kebab owner who / the hustler the community drama spot , then once I shared with government and fair officials it turned into absurdity and fear – Absurdity is a mirror. We just held it up and let them see themselves chew on it.
And what made you decide on a kebab? And not something else like a pizza for example?
Domingo: I love kebab ! Kebab is postmodern poetry. Layers, cultures, grease and beauty. Pizza is too clean. Too Italian. Kebab’s got street tension.
With that in mind, what are you working on right now? Any projects coming up?
Domingo: Always. The moment I tell you, it starts changing.
Can you walk me through your creative process from beginning to end result?
Domingo: Lately using a protocol of my friend METAPUNK , 1,2,3 – very easy and most of the time 3 guides me from the start.
Can you also tell me about your use of symbolism?
Domingo: It’s a playground. I hide jokes, scars, dreams.
How do you approach color?
Domingo: Like I’m tasting it.
So with what we just talked about, what are you hoping to convey?
Domingo: That we’re all part of the show. No backstage, no audience. Just one shared absurd performance.
Outside of art, what’s something you’re obsessed with right now—maybe a hobby, a show, or even a food—that keeps you grounded or inspired?
Domingo: Life. The whole glitchy theater of it. I’m in love with every detail. Nothing is separate from the studio—it all bleeds.
Ok Domingo, now to something totally different. In a parallel universe who would you be? and what would you be doing?
Domingo: I feel like I already am Time seems to bend weird lately. We’re all echoing each other through dimensions like confused prophets with WiFi. Whats the muse for example ? What’s the inspiration the radio in your head like David Lynch would say- I think its a question of the nature of time if its not linear who knows who’s creating – the consumer might be more important than the artist, he ends up being the radio telling the artist what to do .
Can you tell me a story about a time when a connection with someone had a big impact on you?
Domingo: To many – I got the homeless spiritual talks till 4 am – I got a homeless comedian that made my day during christmas – I got some weird (man in black) type stories. But my kids and wife top it all.
What qualities do you find most important in the people you choose to spend time with?
Domingo: All
Anybody you look up to?
Domingo: The version of us that finally gets it. I don’t know what but theres something ……
What motivates you?
Domingo: Life. It’s the only real performance I can’t rehearse
How would you describe a perfect day?
Domingo: It only exists in hindsight. Perfection is nostalgia dressed as memory.
Alright Domingo, I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is. What’s your favorite movie(s) and why?
Domingo: Alejandro jodorowskys movies
The second is. What song(s) are you currently listening to the most right now?
Domingo: Lets make this for real, if anyone is reading this hit my instagram DM and ask me so I can give an honest answer as of right now. Looking forward hearing from you, love.