Once Upon a Mattress

Isthmus, October 10, 2019

Liubov Szwako arrives by bicycle just after 10 p.m., his messenger bag full of cans of spray paint. The fluorescent lights from the nearby gas station on Williamson Street illuminate the curb where Szwako has located his canvas: a discarded full-sized mattress.

Szwako, a self-taught street artist and muralist who goes by the name “Triangulador,” is always on the lookout for things to paint. Tonight he passes up a blue mattress a block away — “too damp,” he says — in favor of the black-cloth covered bottom side of this mattress. He stands back to survey his find, then grabs a can of white paint, puts on headphones and gets to work.

Originally from Mexico City, Szwako moved to Madison 10 years ago as a 20-year-old after meeting a woman here online. The couple has since broken up, but Szwako says, “It’s a fun town. I decided to stick around.”

When he was younger, Szwako dreamed of being a graphic artist but didn’t get beyond high school. He’s worked in the service industry for 10 years, but three years ago took up painting on a whim.

“Nov. 11, 2019 will by my third anniversary of painting,” he says. Szwako does commissioned murals, including one at the Madison Circus Space, and works on traditional cloth canvas and paper. But so far, his unsanctioned street art has garnered the most attention.

He appreciates graffiti art, but does not paint walls without permission. “I believe in karma,” he says. “I don’t want to do anything to get in trouble.”

Instead he looks for large objects that have been discarded on streets for garbage pickup.

“Mattresses are the cheapest, biggest thing you can get,” says Szwako, who also paints discarded couches, chairs and other furniture.

What he is doing isn’t considered vandalism, but Szwako says people have called the police on him. “I am a brown person,” he says. “The cops show up sometimes but they know me, I gave them my card. They are cool — they know I’m just painting trash.”