DALTON PAULA

Renowned for his evocative portraiture and installations, Paula foregrounds the lives of overlooked Black figures, stitching their memory back into the fabric of history through art, and was awarded the Chanel Next Prize in 2024.

Early Years

Dalton Paula was born in Brasília, Brazil in 1982. He grew up in the country’s central region, an environment that would later shape his deep engagement with Afro-Brazilian culture and history. Paula graduated from the Visual Arts programme at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). He lives and works in Goiânia, Brazil, where his commitment to art, education and community-building continues to inform his practice.

Dalton Paula Artworks

Dalton Paula’s artworks are characterised by their meticulous archival research and their focus on the lives of undocumented Black individuals whose contributions have been omitted from official narratives. Working across painting, collage, film, photography, ceramics and textiles, Paula uses the traditions of studio portraiture and postcolonial strategies to commemorate and elevate his subjects.

What are the main themes in Dalton Paula’s art?

Key themes in Paula’s art include:

• Recovery and representation of Black historical figures
• The impact and memory of slavery in Brazil
• Afro-Brazilian religious and cultural traditions (such as Candomblé and quilombos)
• Ritual, spirituality, and resistance
• Community-building and knowledge transmission.

Portraiture and Historical Recovery

Paula is best known for his series of portrait busts and full-length portraits, where he employs symbols of regal attire, gold leaf and reverential poses. These works are informed by extensive research and, where necessary, critical fabulation—a method that combines fact with creative invention to fill historical gaps. Through these portraits, Paula restores dignity and visibility to figures erased from history due to their resistance to slavery and injustice.

Installations and Material Histories

Beyond portraiture, Paula’s practice includes large-scale installations in ceramics and textiles. These works address the residues and tolls left by human labour in the tobacco and cotton industries in Brazil and across the Global South. By foregrounding the material traces of these industries, Paula’s art draws attention to the ongoing impact of colonial economies.

Community and Knowledge Transmission

Reflecting his commitment to knowledge sharing, Paula founded Sertão Negro, a centre for art, education and community in Goiás. This complex—comprising an art school, residency, studio, garden and kitchen—hosts classes, workshops and study groups. Sertão Negro mirrors the collective activities of former quilombos, historic sites of refuge formed by African slaves in Diaspora, and continues Paula’s legacy of fostering creativity and cultural resilience.

What are some of Dalton Paula’s most notable works?

• Portraits of Zeferina and João de Deus Nascimento: Commissioned for MASP‘s Afro-Atlantic Histories exhibition, these works honour leaders of slave resistance in Brazil.
• Retrata Maria (2015): A series of paintings on encyclopedia covers, reimagining anonymous photographs through the lens of Black identity and history.
• Tobacco Route series: Ceramic installations depicting the lives of Black workers on tobacco plantations, referencing both archival material and indigenous knowledge.

Public Commissions, Awards and Accolades

• Sertão Negro, Goiás: Art school, residency, studio, garden and kitchen complex for creative and ecological exploration.
• Chanel Next Prize, 2024
• Marcantonio Vilaça Award, 2019

Where has Dalton Paula exhibited his work?

Dalton Paula has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions at major institutions, including:

• Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil (2022)
• Pinacoteca de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (2022–23)
• Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Centro Cultural Oscar Niemeyer, Goiânia, Brazil (2014)
• Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Sala Samuel Costa, Goiânia, Brazil (2010)

Paula has also been included in the following important institutional exhibitions:

• Foreigners Everywhere, 60th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2024)
• Afro-Atlantic Histories, touring from Museu de Arte de São Paulo and Instituto Tomie Ohtake, Brazil to Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Dallas Museum of Art, USA (2021–24)
• Critical Fabulations, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA (2021–23)
• Songs for Sabotage, New Museum Triennial, New York, USA (2018)
• O Triângulo do Atlântico, 11th Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2018)
• The Atlantic Triangle, Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria (2018)
• Incerteza Viva, 32nd Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil (2016)

Dalton Paula FAQs

Ocula | 2025