Dani Cavalier

Dani Cavalier (Brazil, b. 1993) explores the body, spirituality, and the histories of women’s labor through sculpture, installation, drawing, and textile-based works. Her “solid paintings” reimagines the language of painting through textiles.

Abandoning paint and brush, Cavalier constructs her works from colorful Lycra remnants, weaving, stretching, and layering the fabric over custom-built structures. In these compositions, color becomes both surface and substance, dissolving distinctions between painting, sculpture, and textile. Without a fixed front or back, interior or exterior, the works invite viewers to engage with them as spatial and bodily experiences.

Rooted in textile techniques historically transmitted through generations of women, Cavalier’s practice challenges traditional hierarchies between fine art and craft. By foregrounding forms of making often associated with domestic and feminine labor, she transforms discarded materials into dynamic structures that embody memory, movement, and resilience. Her works reveal how material can carry cultural histories while remaining open to experimentation and transformation.

Recent solo exhibitions include Tramadas at Llano, Mexico City (2026), Dar Nome ao Futuro: Gestos de Permanência at Centro Cultural da Justiça Federal, Rio de Janeiro (2025), and Pinturas Sólidas at Galatea, São Paulo (2025). Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions at Galeria Anita Schwartz, A Gentil Carioca, and Vórtice Cultural. Her work is part of public and private institutions like the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and the North Dakota Museum of Art.

A Rapa do Tacho (The Last Bit), 2026

Solid painting of stretched lycra over stretcher

50 x 50 cm | 19 3/4 x 19 3/4 in (each)

100 x 100 cm | 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in (overall dimensions)

A Melhor Festa foi Aquela que Choveu (The Best Party Was the One Where It Rained), 2026

Solid painting of stretched lycra over stretcher

80 x 60 cm | 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in

Em Curva se Acelera para Ver o Caminho (On a Curve, One Accelerates to See the Way Ahead), 2026

Solid painting of stretched lycra over stretcher

80 x 60 cm | 31 1/2 x 23 5/8 in

A Visão de Dentro do Começo (The Vision Within the Beginning), 2026

Solid painting of stretched lycra over stretcher