Rafael Mesquita
Rafael Mesquita (1994, Jaguariaíva, Paraná, Brazil) is a painter and art educator based in Curitiba. His practice is centered on intimacy, the body, and vulnerability, investigating the relationships between affection, memory, and presence through painting.
He began studying oil painting at the age of eight under artist Vania Pessa Chamma, an experience that marked the beginning of a practice he continues to deepen today. Active in the visual arts since 2017, he has made oil painting his primary field of inquiry. His work is developed through layers, erasures, and gestures that explore materiality, texture, and sensation, moving between painting and drawing with media such as oil paint, oil pastels, oil sticks, charcoal, and other materials.
His work explores intimate experience as a space for the construction of identity and encounters with others, creating images that oscillate between delicacy and emotional intensity. His works are held in private collections in Brazil and abroad, and he has also developed projects for EP and LP album covers as well as publications.
In 2026, he received the “Artist of the Year 2025” award in the Portrait category from the international gallery ARTIT, based in London, following an international public vote. Since 2022, he has also been active in arts education, developing courses and educational programs focused on contemporary artistic practice.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rafames_art/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rafames.art/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rafames_art
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RafaelMesquitaArt
"Figueras® paper is the support that most closely accompanies my artistic practice. Its texture recalls canvas and provides a very pleasant experience with oil paint, allowing the brush to glide naturally across the surface. I appreciate the relationship it creates between material, gesture, and support, making it an ideal space for the development of my paintings and experiments."
Rafael Mesquita (1994, Jaguariaíva, Paraná, Brazil) is a painter and art educator based in Curitiba. His practice is centered on intimacy, the body, and vulnerability, investigating the relationships between affection, memory, and presence through painting.
He began studying oil painting at the age of eight under artist Vania Pessa Chamma, an experience that marked the beginning of a practice he continues to deepen today. Active in the visual arts since 2017, he has made oil painting his primary field of inquiry. His work is developed through layers, erasures, and gestures that explore materiality, texture, and sensation, moving between painting and drawing with media such as oil paint, oil pastels, oil sticks, charcoal, and other materials.
His work explores intimate experience as a space for the construction of identity and encounters with others, creating images that oscillate between delicacy and emotional intensity. His works are held in private collections in Brazil and abroad, and he has also developed projects for EP and LP album covers as well as publications.
In 2026, he received the “Artist of the Year 2025” award in the Portrait category from the international gallery ARTIT, based in London, following an international public vote. Since 2022, he has also been active in arts education, developing courses and educational programs focused on contemporary artistic practice.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rafames_art/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rafames.art/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rafames_art
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RafaelMesquitaArt
"Figueras® paper is the support that most closely accompanies my artistic practice. Its texture recalls canvas and provides a very pleasant experience with oil paint, allowing the brush to glide naturally across the surface. I appreciate the relationship it creates between material, gesture, and support, making it an ideal space for the development of my paintings and experiments."
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