Brazil’s multiculturalism bombarded him with many influences, enabling him to absorb very different ethnic, religious and artistic currents. The balance between staying within bounds and overstepping bounds constantly spurred him to new explorations. In this way, the experiences of his childhood and youth, and the development of his early artwork constantly challenged his sense of family and love of his homeland. To know ones origins as well as being willing to move towards the unknown creates a solid foundation for the artistic relationship between tradition and innovation. Tying and untying bonds have determined Gustavo Dalinha’s life and artistic development for two decades. His travels, his shift of focus to Europe, and his cosmopolitan orientation have been necessary and consequential elements. The artist, who today lives in both Brazil and Germany (Berlin), is thus intensively participating in the globalization process, as exemplified by the worldwide movement of art and artists.

From these unique experiences, Gustavo Dalinha has developed an unmistakable signature style marked by a sensual treatment of color and structure. He does not proceed conceptually but empirically. His unique approach and the tactile pleasure of his material provide each new work with an a priori experimental character. Above all in his current work, he brings together sensual and spiritual impressions from two continents.

The unique handmade paper that the artist uses exclusively for his paintings is extraordinarily appealing. When the artist was on a trip to Madagascar in 1990, he fell immediately in love with this material.

…The artist’s pictures, which can more accurately be described as objects, do not incorporate conventional painterly illusions, but are physical and thus very concrete. Paint does not cover the objects like a blanket but follows the surface structure with great sensitivity. In this way Gustavo Dalinha attains a high degree of synthesis between materiality and spirituality, between picture structure and concept, and between work principle and experiment…