Dalton Gata’s artistic practice is a rich tapestry that weaves together elements of stylized realism and surrealism, creating a visual language that is both evocative and deeply personal. Rooted in his Caribbean heritage, Gata's work, reflecting a blend of African and Spanish histories, explores themes of performance, artifice, and the reclamation of symbols, offering a timely and poignant commentary on contemporary chaos.
Gata's multidisciplinary approach spans painting, drawing, and photography, incorporating influences from his background in fashion design and popular culture, characterized by long, curved brushstrokes. His subjects, meticulously composed figures that evoke a sense of embodiment and eroticism, present a diverse spectrum of materiality and appearances, celebrating the beauty in diversity. These figures often inhabit expansive, otherworldly landscapes, interspersed with brutalist architectural elements and gleaming, gilded objects. This interplay of materiality and appearance creates a landscape that is at once romantically nostalgic and unsettling, drawing viewers into a world that is vibrant with confident self-expression, yet also marked by hidden insecurities and eccentricities.
Dalton Gata (b. 1977 in Santiago de Cuba) holds a BFA in Fashion Design from Altos del Chavón School of Design, Dominican Republic (2005). His work has been exhibited across Europe, the US and South America. Recent solo and group exhibitions include After Dark, Newchild, Antwerp (2024); Surrealism and Us: Caribbean and African Diasporic Artists since 1940, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth (2024); IN MARAVILLAS, Galería Agustina Ferreyra, Mexico City (2023, solo); Portrait for Loneliness, Peres Projects, Berlin (2022, solo); Cabeza de mango, Chapter, New York (2022, solo); Allí, Galeria Agustina Ferreyra, San Juan (2022, solo); What Lies Beneath, curated by Direlia Lazo, Vortic, online (2022); Tropical Is Political: Caribbean Art Under the Visitor Economy Regime, curated by Marina Reyes Franco, Americas Society, New York (2022); Futurismo, Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo (2022); Dalton Gata: The Way We’ll Be, curated by Alex Gartenfeld, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2021, solo). His work is part of the public collections of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Miami and the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw. The artist lives and works in Coamo, Puerto Rico.