PAULO NIMER PJOTA

The work of the Brazilian artist Paulo Nimer Pjota is an allegorical journey through histories and cultures referring to everyday objects, vernacular architecture and street life. He uses large un-stretched canvas and sheets of found metal to create works that incorporate detailed renderings of masks, plants, isolated words, vases, cartoon and historical characters. The imagery and storytelling in his works in part derives from his earlier life experience on the streets of São Paulo and his interest in music, history, philosophy and criminal 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

Paulo was born in 1988 in Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil. He currently lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. Selected solo exhibitions include, The history in repeat mode — image, Mendes Wood DM, Brussels, Belgium, 2017, Synthesis of contradictory ideas and the pluralism of object as image, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil and Maureen Paley, London, 2016; Relational System Project Season, Palace of Arts São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 2013; Paulo Nimer Pjota, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brazil; 1st Festival of the exhibition program, São Paulo Cultural Centre, São Paulo, Brazil, 2012. Selected group exhibitions include A LUZ QUE VELA O CORPO É A MESMA QUE REVELA A TELA, CAIXA Cultural Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; PAINTING |OR| NOT, KaviarFactory, Henningsvær, Norway, 2017; New Shamans / Novos Xamãs: Brazilian Artists, Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA; Soft Power. Arte Brasil, Kunsthal in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, 2016; The World is Made of Stories, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway; Imagine Brazil, DHC / Foundation for Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada; Ce Monde Fabuleux, Moderne MAC-Lyon, Lyon, France, 2015 and 10 years of the prize acquisition, Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 2014.