Jorge Selarón

He is perhaps best known for his work on the Escadaria Selarón, a world-famous set of ceramic tile-covered stairs located in the Lapa and Santa Teresa neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[1][2] Selarón moved to the Lapa neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro in the 1980s, settling in a house next to the stairs.

[1] In 1990, he began decorating the 215 stairs leading up to the Convent of Santa Teresa with ceramic tiles.

[1] His artistic transformation of the stairs, using tiles and porcelain donated by friends and supporters, took twenty years to complete.

[1] His stairs, which were declared a city landmark in 2005, were featured in Rio de Janeiro's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.