Daniel Mattar was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1971. From early on, Mattar realized that photography offered a possibility for artistic expression, leading him to pursue a course in Art & Design at PUC-Rio, where he immersed himself in photography.
In the early 1990s, he spent some time in Japan, where he began researching Zen Buddhism and Japanese calligraphy, incorporating them into his photographic work.
Mattar discovered a personal path in portrait photography, launching a highly successful career that lasted nearly 30 years. It is worth noting that Daniel belongs to the last generation of photographers who experienced their art as manual work, without the many post-production technologies available today. He dedicated himself profoundly to studying technique and found his greatest curiosity and talent in lighting.
In 2018, Daniel exchanged the luminous Rio de Janeiro for the luminous Lisbon, where he expanded his artistic research, working with different scales, from micro to macro, photographing pigments on small surfaces, creating three-dimensional compositions, and contemplating light and shadow.
Mattar rethinks the relationship between photography, painting and sculpture, playing with the interstice spaces that infiltrate between each of the media. To transition from a pictorial image to a photograph and then to an object, Daniel Mattar deploys a range of diverse techniques, generally starting from found materials, on which he uses a painting gesture, before photographing the result to reprint it then in large format. He thus recycles everyday images and materials which he covers with a thick layer of oil paint before photographing the result and then producing a large format photograph.
Mattar has held solo and group exhibitions since 1988, including the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAM-RJ), the Banco do Brasil Cultural Centre (CCBB), the Sergio Porto Cultural Space and the Deji Art Museum, which acquired the Photographic Drawings series for its collection. His works are in important private collections in Brazil, the USA, Europe and Asia.
Exhibitions
2025
Group exhibition "Earth, Water, Sky "
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition " RETRATOS "
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition " The Surface Holds No Secrets "
Tale Gallery, Belgium - Belgium
Group exhibition " Echo Nest "
A4 Residency Art Center, Chengdu - China
Group exhibition " (COL)ORATOR "
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
2024
Group exhibition "Clube do Colecionador"
Matias Brotas Gallery - Brasil
Group exhibition "Atlantic Between Us"
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition "Arte Vivo"
Museo Kalux Mexico City - Mexico
Group exhibition "Linhatravelâmina"
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition "Passage: A Mode of Reconstruction"
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
2023
Solo show "Flowing Forms"
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition "Arte Vivo"
Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City - Mexico
Group exhibition "Umbra Natural"
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition "Samsara"
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition "Organic – As Time Awakens"
Deji Art Museum, Nanjing - China
2022
Group exhibition "_HIPERFÍCIE"
Brisa Galeria Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition "Planícies Ressonantes"
Brisa Galeria Lisbon - Portugal
Group exhibition "What´s in a Tale",
Tale Art Gallery, Vlierzeldorp - Belgium
Solo show - SP ARTE art fair
Galeria Marcia Barrozo do Amaral Both , Sao Paulo - Brazil
Group exhibition "HAKANAI",
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
2021
Group exhibition "Pedágio de mim",
"Not A Museum" Artspace, Lisbon - Portugal.
Group exhibition "Terra Estrangeira",
Tryzy Gallery, Lisbon - Portugal.
Group exhibition "Entre a Água e a Terra",
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
Solo show - ArteRio art fair
Galeria Marcia Barrozo do Amaral Both , Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Solo exhibition "Polaroids".
"Artsy " digital platform
2020
Group exhibition "Natureza Alterada",
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
Solo exhibition "Vista Aérea".
"Artsy " digital platform
Group exhibition "Arte Brasileira",
Galeria Sá da Costa, Lisbon - Portugal.
2019
Solo exhibition "Photo Drawings".
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
Group exhibition "PRAIA",
Galeria da Gavea, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
Group exhibition "Imprecisão Azul",
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
Group exhibition "Galaxies",
Espace L gallery, Geneva - Switzerland
Release of the Artist Book "4 centimetres"- UQ editions
Group exhibition "UQ editions", Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
2018
Solo exhibition "Pigmento".
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
Solo exhibition "RISE".
Brisa Galeria, Lisbon - Portugal.
2016
Group exhibition Arte Core serie "Simulacro" .
Museu de arte moderna (MAM), Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
2014
Velt Gallery Project serie "Cirúrgicos".
Antiga Fabrica da Bhering ,Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
Group exhibition "Atemporal" series "Cirúrgicos", Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
2012
Solo exhibition "Simulacro".
Centro Cultural Sergio Porto, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
Solo exhibition "Janela Glacial".
Shopping Leblon , Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
2008
Group exhibition "Nippon". Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB) ,
Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia - Brazil
1996
Solo exhibition "Inventario#01".
Centro Cultural Oduvaldo Viana Filho , Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
1991
Group exhibition , III Bienal de Santos,São Paulo-Brazil
Solo exhibition "TOKYO".
Espaço Mario Quintana,Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil
Solo exhibition "Homenagem a Marcio Mattar" .
Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM),Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Solo exhibition "Longe do cais".
Iate Clube, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Solo exhibition "TOKYO".
Manch Café Galeria , Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
1988
Group exhibition " New paintings".
Tríade gallery, Rio de Janeiro-Brazil