Artist: Paulo Nimer Pjota

Paulo Nimer Pjota (b.1988, São José do Rio Preto) is a Brazilian artist who predominantly works in oil, tempera and acrylic on canvas. His paintings draw on art history, popular culture, mythology and folk tales, merging multiple and often contrasting references to create new, imaginary scenarios. His approach borrows from the sampling and remixing practices adopted in Brazilian hip-hop and rap music, and he often titles his work and exhibitions after songs.

At the SLG, Pjota will present a new series of paintings against an expansive mural painted directly onto the gallery walls to create a magical environment populated by mythical characters, dragons, crocodiles, monkeys and imaginary beasts. The sun, stars and moon are recurring motifs in Pjota’s cosmos, as are ancient and modern vases, shells and invented vessels, often brimming with fantastical flowers. Bringing together such disparate elements from the past, present and an imaginary world, Pjota introduces us to a new universe in which established hierarchies of value attributed to various objects, artefacts and cultures are dismantled, making way for an alternative future.

The exhibition at the SLG will be Pjota's first exhibition with a public gallery in the UK. It will also be his second institutional solo exhibition following his debut at Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, in 2025.