"Very, very transcendent pieces mixing realism with naturalism and spirituality."

- Maeve Doyle, BBC Art Critic, Curator

Award-winning London-based artist Catarina Diaz creates flamboyant, opulent compositions where figurative forms intertwine with fragments of nature, memory, and dream. Mentored by Royal Academician David Mach and honoured by the President of Portugal, she is celebrated for works that merge rococo elegance with her African-Portuguese heritage. Working in analogue collage, oil painting, and mixed media, she masterfully uses chiaroscuro to illuminate the inner journey with dramatic intensity.

Her internationally acclaimed works have been exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery, the Carrousel du Louvre, and across Europe, as well as in Japan, New York, and Dubai — a journey that now finds a powerful home at Zebra One Gallery, London, a space celebrated for its legacy of championing groundbreaking contemporary voices.

Features in The Flux Review, Vogue, Vanity Fair, House & Garden, Tatler, and The World of Interiors, alongside appearances on television, art podcasts, books and reviews, have also amplified her voice on the global stage.

Each piece invites reflection, embracing imperfection, duality, and transcendence. Díaz’s practice revisits past lives through the present self — both as a creative source and a cathartic release — while exploring nature’s restorative power and the reclamation of feminine identity. Alongside her artistic work, she has built a career in education, public relations, and international relations, experiences that deepen her sensitivity to human stories. Ultimately, her art calls viewers to discover their own inner beauty and embark on personal creative journeys.

- Pedro Jaime Vasconcelos, Marchand-mercier, Art Curator, Gallerist