Deladier Almeida
Current Exhibition: California Imagined
San Francisco | June 16 - July 31
Artist Reception | Thursday, June 18 | 5 - 7pm
Deladier Almeida’s landscape paintings occupy a dynamic space between abstraction and realism, rooted in a keen observation of the land. Inspired by countless flights over rural California, his predominantly aerial compositions depict fields, rivers, and cultivated patterns, distilling these recurring forms into rhythmic geometries and expressive brushwork. A vibrant yet disciplined palette contributes to a sense of spontaneous order, while shifting perspectives and interlocking shapes create compositions that feel both familiar and unexpected.
More than descriptive landscapes, Almeida’s paintings invite viewers to move between recognition and imagination. Their apparent realism offers an immediate point of entry, but closer inspection reveals subtle distortions and playful spatial relationships that challenge perception. Balancing observation with invention, Almeida transforms the landscape into something both tangible and imagined, encouraging a deeper contemplation of the land and our relationship to it.
Biography
Deladier Almeida’s landscape paintings reflect a skill and intelligence that allows them to stake out a territory unto themselves, despite the artist’s acknowledgment of sources such as Wayne Thiebaud and Roland Petersen, with whom he studied at Davis. Deladier’s paintings are neither traditionally nor predictably beautiful. Realism, a term overused to describe paintings that imitate the subjects represented, is of course deceptive on the face of it. All art is inherently abstract, that is to say, not the actual thing but a depiction of it. Part of Del’s magic is the sophisticated way he pivots back and forth between representational art and abstraction. The viewer, especially the casual one, feels comfort in the familiar rural landscape imagery. No modernist trickery here. But then, a closer look reveals elements that betray a playful mind at work behind the keen observation. The artist confounds his audience, producing a reassuring superficial reality and then shaking it up by digging deeper.
Despite the thought and calculation that go into the construction of an Almeida composition, when the actual painting begins he intentionally shifts method. Determined not to think or control what is taking place, he awaits the emergence of the unplanned images. When they appear they just take over. “There’s a lot going on, which is completely happening on its own.” And then: “You know, this is a painting!”
Born in Brazil, Almeida has lived in California since the mid-1980s, earning his degree from the University of California, Davis. He has exhibited his work at galleries, museums, and art fairs including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts in Davis, and the Bennington Center for the Arts, Vermont.
Born
1961 Brazil
Education
1990 Studio Art, University of California, Davis.
Studied with Roy de Forest, David Hollowell,
Roland Petersen, and Wayne Thiebaud.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2022 Landscapes of Tuscany and Rural California, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2021 Dutch and Italian scenes, Obsession of Art Gallery, in Bergen, Holland
New Landscape Paintings, Blue Rain Gallery, Sant Fe, NM.
110th Gold Medal Exhibition, California Art Club
Hilbert Museum of California Art, Chapman University, Orange, CA
Landscapes of Tuscany and Rural California, SmithKlein Gallery, Boulder, CO
Shape & Structure, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2019 California & Tuscany - Abstracted Landscapes, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena
2018 Geometry of Chance, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
New Landscapes, Elliott Fotus Gallery, Sacramento, CA.
New Landscapes, Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT.
2017 Landscapes of Tuscany and Rural California, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2016 Rural Abstractions, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2015 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
2014 Aerial Abstractions, Campton Gallery, New York, NY.
Southwest Landscape, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
2013 The Calligraphy of Water: Landscapes of Rural California, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
The Cultivated Landscape: A Tuscan Travelogue, Knowlton Gallery, Lodi, CA.
Geometry of Gravity: California Landscapes & Still Lifes, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2012 California Landscapes, Caffe Museo, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA.
Picture Perfect, Christian Hohmann Gallery, Palm Desert, CA.
Hidden Symmetries, Knowlton Gallery, Lodi, CA.
2011 Mirada Fine Art Gallery, Denver, CO.
New New Mexico Landscapes and Grand Tour Figures, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
Geometry of Occupation, Knowlton Gallery, Lodi, CA.
2010 World Figures and California Landscapes, Christian Hohmann Gallery, Palm Desert, CA.
New Mexico Landscapes, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
8th Annual California Landscape, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2009 New Paintings, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
Paintings of the Delta, Senator Lois Wolk’s office, California State Capitol, Sacramento, CA.
7th Annual California Landscape, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2008 Geometry of Occupation, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
6th Annual California Landscape, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2007 Annual Figuration, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2006 Portraits of Artists, Art Historians and Patrons of the Arts, California Landscapes, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
Press
PRESS
Selected Artworks
Born
1961 Brazil
Education
1990 Studio Art, University of California, Davis.
Studied with Roy de Forest, David Hollowell,
Roland Petersen, and Wayne Thiebaud.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2022 Landscapes of Tuscany and Rural California, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2021 Dutch and Italian scenes, Obsession of Art Gallery, in Bergen, Holland
New Landscape Paintings, Blue Rain Gallery, Sant Fe, NM.
110th Gold Medal Exhibition, California Art Club
Hilbert Museum of California Art, Chapman University, Orange, CA
Landscapes of Tuscany and Rural California, SmithKlein Gallery, Boulder, CO
Shape & Structure, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2019 California & Tuscany - Abstracted Landscapes, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena
2018 Geometry of Chance, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
New Landscapes, Elliott Fotus Gallery, Sacramento, CA.
New Landscapes, Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT.
2017 Landscapes of Tuscany and Rural California, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
2016 Rural Abstractions, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2015 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
2014 Aerial Abstractions, Campton Gallery, New York, NY.
Southwest Landscape, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
2013 The Calligraphy of Water: Landscapes of Rural California, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena, CA.
Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
The Cultivated Landscape: A Tuscan Travelogue, Knowlton Gallery, Lodi, CA.
Geometry of Gravity: California Landscapes & Still Lifes, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2012 California Landscapes, Caffe Museo, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA.
Picture Perfect, Christian Hohmann Gallery, Palm Desert, CA.
Hidden Symmetries, Knowlton Gallery, Lodi, CA.
2011 Mirada Fine Art Gallery, Denver, CO.
New New Mexico Landscapes and Grand Tour Figures, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
Geometry of Occupation, Knowlton Gallery, Lodi, CA.
2010 World Figures and California Landscapes, Christian Hohmann Gallery, Palm Desert, CA.
New Mexico Landscapes, Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.
8th Annual California Landscape, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2009 New Paintings, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
Paintings of the Delta, Senator Lois Wolk’s office, California State Capitol, Sacramento, CA.
7th Annual California Landscape, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2008 Geometry of Occupation, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
6th Annual California Landscape, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2007 Annual Figuration, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
2006 Portraits of Artists, Art Historians and Patrons of the Arts, California Landscapes, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA.
Deladier Almeida’s landscape paintings reflect a skill and intelligence that allows them to stake out a territory unto themselves, despite the artist’s acknowledgment of sources such as Wayne Thiebaud and Roland Petersen, with whom he studied at Davis. Deladier’s paintings are neither traditionally nor predictably beautiful. Realism, a term overused to describe paintings that imitate the subjects represented, is of course deceptive on the face of it. All art is inherently abstract, that is to say, not the actual thing but a depiction of it. Part of Del’s magic is the sophisticated way he pivots back and forth between representational art and abstraction. The viewer, especially the casual one, feels comfort in the familiar rural landscape imagery. No modernist trickery here. But then, a closer look reveals elements that betray a playful mind at work behind the keen observation. The artist confounds his audience, producing a reassuring superficial reality and then shaking it up by digging deeper.
Despite the thought and calculation that go into the construction of an Almeida composition, when the actual painting begins he intentionally shifts method. Determined not to think or control what is taking place, he awaits the emergence of the unplanned images. When they appear they just take over. “There’s a lot going on, which is completely happening on its own.” And then: “You know, this is a painting!”
Born in Brazil, Almeida has lived in California since the mid-1980s, earning his degree from the University of California, Davis. He has exhibited his work at galleries, museums, and art fairs including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts in Davis, and the Bennington Center for the Arts, Vermont.
Biography
Press
Current Exhibition: California Imagined
San Francisco | June 16 - July 31
Artist Reception | Thursday, June 18 | 5 - 7pm
Deladier Almeida’s landscape paintings occupy a dynamic space between abstraction and realism, rooted in a keen observation of the land. Inspired by countless flights over rural California, his predominantly aerial compositions depict fields, rivers, and cultivated patterns, distilling these recurring forms into rhythmic geometries and expressive brushwork. A vibrant yet disciplined palette contributes to a sense of spontaneous order, while shifting perspectives and interlocking shapes create compositions that feel both familiar and unexpected.
More than descriptive landscapes, Almeida’s paintings invite viewers to move between recognition and imagination. Their apparent realism offers an immediate point of entry, but closer inspection reveals subtle distortions and playful spatial relationships that challenge perception. Balancing observation with invention, Almeida transforms the landscape into something both tangible and imagined, encouraging a deeper contemplation of the land and our relationship to it.
Deladier Almeida
Del’s paintings are neither traditionally nor predictably beautiful. They are quirky and “deceptive” in a positive manner. Realism, a term overused to describe paintings that imitate the subjects represented, is of course deceptive on the face of it. All art is inherently abstract, that is to say, not the actual thing but a depiction of it. Part of Del’s magic is the sophisticated way he pivots back and forth between representational art and abstraction. The viewer, especially the casual one, feels comfort in the familiar rural landscape imagery.
Current Exhibition: California Imagined
San Francisco | June 16 - July 31
Artist Reception | Thursday, June 18 | 5 - 7pm
Deladier Almeida’s landscape paintings occupy a dynamic space between abstraction and realism, rooted in a keen observation of the land. Inspired by countless flights over rural California, his predominantly aerial compositions depict fields, rivers, and cultivated patterns, distilling these recurring forms into rhythmic geometries and expressive brushwork. A vibrant yet disciplined palette contributes to a sense of spontaneous order, while shifting perspectives and interlocking shapes create compositions that feel both familiar and unexpected.
More than descriptive landscapes, Almeida’s paintings invite viewers to move between recognition and imagination. Their apparent realism offers an immediate point of entry, but closer inspection reveals subtle distortions and playful spatial relationships that challenge perception. Balancing observation with invention, Almeida transforms the landscape into something both tangible and imagined, encouraging a deeper contemplation of the land and our relationship to it.