PAULO NIMER PJOTA

Large un-stretched canvas’ and sheets of found metal along with cast objects are used to create works that incorporate detailed renderings of plants, vases, isolated words, cartoon and historical characters. The imagery and storytelling in his works in part derives from his earlier life experience as a graffiti artist on the streets of São Paulo and his interest in music, history, philosophy and symbology. His work encompasses a varied and at times poetic exploration of his relationship with the city where he works and lives.

‘I don’t consider myself a figurative painter. I paint images as objects, not as figuration. In Brazil, it’s more difficult to find something close to what I do. The school of painting in Brazil is different from mine. In fact, I don’t worry about being a painter. I’m more influenced by music.

I have some paintings where the title is taken from a song. If you think of the composition, you can imagine a rapper, sampling and repeating to produce the beat. I do it with my pieces: I cut a part of the history and reproduce, cut another part and reproduce. The balance of the composition works according to the flow of the objects. There’s repetition, and you realize that there are lines that connect the objects and mark making.

I’m interested in social issues because this is part of my own history with painting and as a person - my aesthetic interests overlap with these issues. If you live in Brazil, these socio/political questions are part of your day-to-day. I’ve expanded my painting into space. My work already had this character due to its architectural scale and my personal research into vernacular and popular architecture.’ - Paulo Nimer Pjota 2016

Paulo Nimer Pjota currently lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil and is represented by Mendes Wood DM.

Selected solo exhibitions include Synthesis of contradictory ideas and the pluralism of object as image, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil, 2016, Sistema Relacional, Temporada de projetos, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil, 2013, Paulo Nimer Pjota, Mendes Wood DM and the 1st Festival of the exhibition program, São Paulo Cultural Center, São Paulo, Brazil, 2012.

Selected group shows include The World is Made of Stories, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway, 2015 – 2016, Cidade Inquieta, Sesc-Rio Preto, São José Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, 2015, Imagine Brazil, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil and DHC/Art Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada, 2015 – 2016, Ce Fabuleux Monde Moderne, MAC-Lyon, Lyon, France, 19° Festival de Arte Contemporânea Sesc_Videobrasil - Panoramas do Sul, Sesc Pompéia, São Paulo, Brazil, Here There (Huna Hunak), QM Gallery Al Riwaq, Doha, Qatar, 2015, The part that does not belong to you, Kunsthaus, Wiesbaden, Germany, The First and Last Freedom, MOTinternational London, UK, 2014, Chambers a Part, Edition VIII, La Reserve Paris, France, Entre-temps... Brusquement, et ensuite, 12th Lyon Biennial, France, 2013.