Dalton Gata’s practice draws from Surrealism, Caribbean culture, and his background as a fashion designer. His paintings, drawings, and photographs reference popular culture to reflect upon the psychological and social effects related to physical appearance. Gata’s living and still life subjects present a vast spectrum of materiality and appearances that celebrate the beauty in diversity. They often exist within, or alongside, sprawling landscapes punctured by brutalist architectural elements or glistening, gilded objects. His expansive, otherworldly realm conveys both a romantic nostalgia and a looming uneasiness, leaving space for multiple interpretations. Together, his subjects and their imagined spaces provide an unparalleled vision of our society brimming with confident self-expression, concealed insecurities, and undeniable eccentricities.
Dalton Gata (b. 1977, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba) lives and works in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He graduated in 2005 from the Escuela de Diseño Altos del Chavón in Santo Domingo with a BFA in Fashion Design. He has had solo exhibitions at Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Galería Agustina Ferreyra, San Juan and Mexico City; Chapter NY, New York; Peres Projects, Berlin; Sunday Painter, London; and Embajada, San Juan; among others. His work has been included in group exhibitions at Mead Art Museum, Amherst; Americas Society Council of the Americas, New York; Institute of Contemporary Art Miami; Clima Gallery, Milan; Kurimanzutto, Mexico City; Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York; and Embajada, San Juan.
![<i>Dick head duck</i>, 2023<br/>Acrylic on cotton-linen canvas<br/>50 x 70 in (127 x 177.8 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/3ThgeMGNJBz9XgGgQYbw1d/f2d9df37ceefa9566b72ee46eccc9304/DG_2230_Dick_head_duck_1_front.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>The Golden Watcher</i>, 2023<br/>Acrylic on cotton-linen canvas<br/>38 x 30 in (96.5 x 76.2 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/2NlpoP9TeHrOIxcSYB46ot/8dd7e8d414eb593a4fbeec91e220e3a3/DG_2231_The_Golden_Watcher_1_front.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Foto No. 7</i>, 2022<br/>Acrylic on cotton-linen canvas<br/>59 x 59 in (149.9 x 149.9 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/2Fn2vH32X1V8xr3EkIwCsD/5a0a1e0432b1b4bf6f7c59d37a630fd6/DG_2221_Foto_No._7.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Foto No. 2</i>, 2022<br/>Acrylic on linen<br/>60 x 60 in (152.4 x 152.4 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/4swjRXXiQBi0mljIoCJGIu/745ba3e681d435d66082a4124a2e092b/DG_2226_Foto_No._2.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![Installation view, <i>Fire Figure Fantasy: Selections from ICA Miami's Collection</i>, Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, FL](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/7FO0KE6iBk7ve4OTCFibJg/60e26a9a4e58a7897826cdcd80ca6f32/DG_Installation_view_-_-Fire_Figure_Fantasy_-_Selections_from_ICA_Miami-s_Collection-_at_ICA_Miami_1_.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>The forgotten banquet</i>, 2022<br/>Acrylic on cotten-linen canvas<br/>36 x 74 in (91.4 x 188 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/dxWDZmZI5peNUvNa98foR/fa49e4440d1f811c02dd50c2d2c0b8ff/DG_The_forgotten_banquet.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Bun of tears</i>, 2022<br/>Acrylic on cotton-linen canvas<br/>100 x 60 in (254 x 152.4 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/1igNBB9x0eRCURXqMC8eQX/3b3875e93182bb7ebdfcbf9c3d7d7d63/DG_Bun_of_tears_1.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Cuidado con el Chango</i> (Beware of the Chango), 2022<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>70 x 60 in (200 x 152.4 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/3ZpRIywg2K2l0Y4doNuHMN/714b6f6292320155901e99f858cf5130/DG_Installation_view_-Tropical_is_Political-_AS_COA_1.jpeg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>The Visitor From New York</i>, 2021<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>48 × 48 in (121.92 × 121.92 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/1Hsj1sseZb1LEwPnFHWQiS/5742d9f58e7696a0492830a98c19ea20/DG_1619_The_Visitor_From_New_York.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Bodegón I</i>, 2020<br/>Acrylic on linen cotton<br/>26 × 40 in (66.04 × 101.60 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/6mgUP1zeDjgoyYQBGKSZov/a5fa11b8bc1b42c23543203d3c54664f/DG_Bodegon_I.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Vista desde la ventana (View from the window)</i>, 2020<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>40 × 52 in (101.60 × 132.08 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/xD6C1cXpYzwB5d52NYQmB/770318f9a53f4c854b4306674607bafc/DG_Vista_desde_la_ventana__View_from_the_window_.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Criatura de pelo largo (Long-haired creature)</i>, 2020<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>48 × 48 in (121.92 × 121.92 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/4s9aou03ooyKy4rtD9OFKy/23c45cda17780b55b6603ead24667f3f/DG_Criatura_de_pelo_largo__Long-haired_creature_.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Untitled (Dream)</i>, 2019<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>75 × 65 in (190.50 × 165.10 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/7qXttfxA0UEUTG7bXIjihZ/b7d824e19f51e9a13a061c55c07a8c7d/DG_Untitled__Dream_.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![Installation view, <i>The Way We'll Be</i>, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/2SezfsDeCxMBoa82tFGyWV/d57b281b5dce8fb921fcd3a023cff9d0/Installation_view-__Dalton_Gata-_The_Way_We-ll_Be__at_ICA_Miami-008.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>I Don't Need You To Be Warm</i>, 2021<br/>Acrylic on linen and cedar frame<br/>83 x 70 in (210.8 x 177.8 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/15Xv65jAwitrtGG0tsNC7b/8e3c409f4bd8e11c40c2f7544b97f6c8/DG_2091_I_Don-t_Need_You_To_Be_Warm.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Next in Line</i>, 2021<br/>Acrylic on linen<br/>Diptych: 50 x 100 in (127 x 254 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/9wJsCr36ontmQdoS1n8ch/b7f3c8800709018af6343e9099b9c1ed/image.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>A Banana, A Coffee, And Then We Die</i>, 2021<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>30 x 38 in (76.2 x 96.5 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/4dLCGwMTklcDbbkDWhhyvR/79077d9ea5ddeab41f8af6404fe50437/DG_1562_A_Banana__A_Coffee__And_Then_We_Die.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>You know what I mean</i>, 2019<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>20 × 15 ¾ in (50.80 × 40.01 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/4RsM5ZV2wyMuF38YcBG7af/2cf7f69295493f251169248428727b0e/2019_DG_You_know_what_I_mean.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Magdalena</i>, 2019<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>20 × 15 ¾ in (50.80 × 40.01 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/66R6gxWwE3fUnLUA9Ru4QK/943650bc3bb7a3282f92de7776551319/2019_DG_Magdalena.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Devil with a mask</i>, 2019<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>20 × 15 ¾ in (50.80 × 40.01 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/3TsxDDasVYOIe80OjH0Dz8/2c598807574c782be282a49f55ba52a0/2019_DG_Devil_with_a_mask.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Descarados</i>, 2019<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>61 ⅜ × 23 ⅝ in (155.89 × 60.01 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/5U6ZqsMd8zsCK39hCT23bk/b276f77fb5c1148124e23398b195c08d/DG_Descarados.jpg?w=800&q=80)
![<i>Bathroom Line</i>, 2019<br/>Acrylic on canvas<br/>55 × 140 in (139.70 × 355.60 cm)](http://images.ctfassets.net/my3e36632gpy/3Mkz9zEaoYuEYmGafDQOme/abd6c84bcbe5465171a09f1d3b8b1a43/2019_DG_Bathroom_Line.jpg?w=800&q=80)