Pro Tapes has partnered up with popular artist, Flekz, also known as Gustavo Fuentes, an established creator in the medium of tape art. Gustavo has commanded the intricacies of the tape medium for years, creating elaborate geographic murals with Pro Gaff and fine-line painted pieces with Pro 788.
As a long-time fan of Pro Tapes products, a collaboration between the two was a perfect way to experiment with our wide variety of tapes and showcase some incredible ways Pro Tapes can be used. We took a moment to check in with Flekz between the various projects created about his process and evolution thus far.
How has your art or your process evolved over the years?
My art is in a state of continuous evolution, which I think is true for any artist. In the beginning, my work was all about pure discovery, finding my voice and style. Now, while that same creative curiosity is still the driving force, the evolution is more about refinement. The process for everything has become more intentional. It’s a fascinating challenge to refine a technique in a way that feels both new and familiar at the same time, pushing the boundaries while staying true to the core of my work.
Can you break down any different uses you’ve found for tape during your art process?
My journey with tape began as a solution to a problem. Early in my career, I was creating large paper stencils, and a constant frustration was that the small paper “bridges” holding the design together would rip. I started using tape as a makeshift reinforcement to hold them together. After a while, the real breakthrough came. My work was already very geometric, and I realized I was spending all this time fixing paper when I could be building the entire design directly with the clean, sharp lines of the tape itself.
That was the moment my whole process shifted. Now, tape is the medium. It’s what I use to create everything from finished art pieces on canvas to applying intricate designs on unconventional surfaces like helmets, bicycles, and cars.
How has your journey into content creation grown alongside your art career?
My journey into content creation was born out of necessity. When I first started creating murals, I wasn’t working in a sketchbook or on canvas, so the only record of my art was the finished piece on a wall. I needed to photograph my work to build a portfolio for college applications. That act of documenting my art for a practical purpose became the foundation for everything. Around that time, Instagram was relatively new, so I started sharing my photos there. Capturing the process became just as important as the final mural. This naturally grew into videography and creating the long time lapses that are now a core part of my art career. The content creation and the art are now completely intertwined. One fuels the other.
How has working with Pro Tapes directly influenced or inspired new ideas in your process or materials?
Working directly with Pro Tapes has been a huge influence because it encourages me to step out of my comfort zone. The fact that Pro Tapes carry such a wide variety of tapes that I might not normally use inspires new concepts and challenges me to experiment. As an artist, I purposely put myself in those situations to learn and grow. The great thing about Pro Tapes is that even when I’m trying something new, I know the quality of the material is something I can rely on. That trust in the product gives me the confidence to push my work even further. It’s a privilege to feel that supported by the very materials you create with.
What has most surprised you as you continue to share your art with your audience?
Honestly, the biggest surprise is the profound disconnect between my own self-criticism and the way the audience receives my work. As an artist, I’m incredibly hard on myself. I’ll fixate on tiny imperfections or things I wish I had done differently. But then, those are often the very details that my followers think are amazing. To know that people genuinely care about my work and connect with it on that level is still surprising to me. That encouragement doesn’t just feel good. It makes me a better artist. It pushes me to trust my vision and to keep creating.
Check out some works created so far!
Follow along on Instagram for more!
