Biography

São Paulo-based artist Paulo Nimer Pjota recombines elements of art history, popular culture, and universal symbolism into striking paintings and sculptures that bend boundaries between epochs. Foregrounded in his work are concepts of art historical “sampling” and remixing, which serve as both homages to the countercultures vital to his upbringing in Brazil’s interior, as well as critiques of globalization and rigid systems of anthropological or cultural categorization. Drawing from a vast network of visual and theoretical sources, prominent among them vernacular arts and architectures, hip-hop music, antiquity, and Joseph Campbell’s seminal writings on myth and universality, his work looks to reconsider geographical and cultural specificities in ways that underscore the rapidly shifting world around us. In his newest work, Pjota channels these familiar leitmotivs alongside earlier explorations of object and symbol into a distinct visual language, where sinuous, organic forms and a skillful palette culminate in dreamlike images that are uniquely his own.

Paulo Nimer Pjota (b. 1988, São José do Rio Preto) lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. Recent solo exhibitions include Kunstituut Melly, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2025); Mendes Wood DM, New York (2024); Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2023, 2018); François Ghebaly, Los Angeles (2022); Maureen Paley, London (2022); The Power Station, Dallas (2021); Ivani e Jorge Yunes Collection, São Paulo (2019); Mendes Wood DM, Brussels (2017); Maureen Paley / Morena di Luna, Hove (2017). His work has been included in institutional group exhibitions such as 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (2024); X Museum, Beijing, China (2023); Astrup Fearnley, Oslo (2019); Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam (2019); Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles (2018); KRC Collection, Voorschoten (2018); Biennial of Contemporary Art Belgrade, Serbia (2018) among others.

Works
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Cacto aurora boreal, 2024
    Cacto aurora boreal, 2024
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Paisagem azul com sol, 2024
    Paisagem azul com sol, 2024
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Jardim fantástico rosa, 2024
    Jardim fantástico rosa, 2024
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Cenas de casa com estrela, 2024
    Cenas de casa com estrela, 2024
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Dragão com cara de sapo, 2024
    Dragão com cara de sapo, 2024
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Cenas de casa com flor estrelada, 2023
    Cenas de casa com flor estrelada, 2023
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Paisagem de neve, 2023
    Paisagem de neve, 2023
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Vaso de morcego, 2023
    Vaso de morcego, 2023
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Jardim de faunos, 2023
    Jardim de faunos, 2023
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Jardim de ex votos, 2023
    Jardim de ex votos, 2023
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Noite com Julia, 2023
    Noite com Julia, 2023
  • Paulo Nimer Pjota, Dialogo entre górgona e cacto, 2023
    Dialogo entre górgona e cacto, 2023
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