feature: salvador-based artist vagner perez combats black artist erasure with minimalism pop art portraits

Vagner Perez is a Rio de Janeiro born artist and graphic designer. Perez, who now lives in Salvador, Brazil, specializes in minimalist Pop Art portraiture. Inspired by the unbearable whiteness of Brazilian art history books, which de-emphasizes the presence and history of Black and non-white Brazilians in favor of the glorification of Portuguese colonization and the monarchy, Perez chose to create representations of unsung Black Brazilian artists like AFROPUNK Fest Paris performer Karol Conka, Ludmilla, Candy Mel, and more.

Actor Lazaro Ramos

Candy Mel

Group Dois Africanos

Liniker

Ludmilla

Group Dois Africanos

Arlindo Cruz

Alcione

Rihanna Carmen Miranda

Karol Conka

www.instagram.com/negoperez
*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.