At the end of his career, Ángel Mateos focused on carrying out major personal projects. To this end, he developed, in parallel to his artistic activity, a solvent business activity, centred on the production of marble and granite products. This activity allowed him to finance his own projects, without having to resort to financial aid that could condition them. The young sculptor of humble origins, who had to make his own work, developed a proud personality and an unshakeable faith in his work.

As a result of this individuality, in 1984 he carried out an unusual proposal: an exhibition of large floating sculptures on the waters of the river Tormes as it flows through Salamanca. On that occasion he used sheet steel as a material, because, as he said, he wanted to place his sculptures on a clean, diaphanous surface.

A few years later, in 1994, he fulfilled one of his dreams: to erect a large sculpture in the countryside of his homeland to symbolise the artist's independence. Since then, the Obelisk to Freedom, the tallest reinforced concrete sculpture in Spain - 25 metres - has stood elegantly in the Villavieja de Yeltes meadow.

Once the initial project of the Habitáculo for his museum was discarded, given its high cost, Ángel Mateos decided to consider other options arising from his last stage, adapting it to be the architecture that would house his museum and which he could personally pay for. In any case, the project would also be his tribute to a material that he has managed to elevate to the category of artistic material, and which provided him with a passionate artistic career.