Dalton Paula’s Meditative Inquiry Into Freedom and Nourishment

There exists a particular grace in the work of Dalton Paula, a contemplative dimension that invites viewers into intimate dialogues with history, memory and the everyday objects that sustain us. At Frieze London, the acclaimed Brazilian artist and educator unveils a singular body of work that interrogates the very notion of nourishment in its most expansive sense, both material and spiritual, asking us to consider the profound question: “Who nourishes freedom?”

Paula’s practice has long been distinguished by its unwavering commitment to visibility and dignity. His narrative filled portraits and still lifes function as acts of resistance, honouring the ancestral ways of living that have been systematically excluded from official historical record. Within this new presentation, the artist brings together a carefully composed vocabulary of objects: chairs that extend beyond their utilitarian purpose to become extensions of the body itself, intimate vessels that hold the memory of those who have sat within them; fans that suggest the circulation of air, movement and the possibility of renewed action; water and stones as eternal counterpoints, grounding us in permanence and stability.

The work invites profound meditation on temporality and presence. How does the past remain active within our present moment? In what ways can we continue to excavate and engage with shared histories that have been rendered invisible? Paula’s paintings and installations address these questions with a poetic restraint and formal sophistication, refusing easy answers whilst creating space for genuine encounter.

What emerges across the booth is a vision of freedom that is inextricably bound to care, to the acknowledgement of those whose labour and wisdom have sustained communities through generations. The still lifes are particularly moving, composed with the sensibility of devotional practice, whilst the portraits carry a luminous psychological depth that speaks to the resilience and complexity of lived experience.

This presentation at Frieze London represents a significant moment in Paula’s ongoing dialogue with the international contemporary art world, positioning his practice within conversations about representation, knowledge systems and the urgent necessity of decolonial thinking. The work does not didactically instruct; rather, it creates an atmosphere of quiet insistence, a gentle but immovable demand that we see, truly see, those who have been overlooked and recognise how their stories and ways of being fundamentally reshape our collective understanding of freedom itself.

Imagery courtesy of Lisson Gallery (@lisson_gallery).