DOCUMENT is pleased to present Nossa Estrela, a solo exhibition of new work by John Opera. This is the artist’s second solo exhibition at DOCUMENT Lisbon and fifth with the gallery. The exhibition brings together selections from Opera’s Sun/Sky series (2014–2026), including cyanotypes first shown in the recent group exhibition Palomar (Parts 1 and 2) at the Renaissance Society in Chicago, alongside new gum bichromate works developed through printing experiments conducted over the past five years.

Working with early photographic processes, Opera puts historical techniques in dialogue with contemporary questions of perception and materiality. The images are made using a handmade cardboard pinhole lens and captured with a digital camera, treating the sun as both subject and conceptual catalyst. Together, the works extend Opera’s long-term interest in the material possibilities of the photographic image, explored through surface, color, and time scales that reach beyond human experience.

John Opera (b. 1975, Buffalo, NY) received his BFA from SUNY New Paltz (1998) and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2005). Solo exhibitions include Rivalry Projects, Buffalo, NY (2025); DOCUMENT, Chicago, IL and Lisbon, Portugal (2023); Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY (2019); Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY (2018); Higher Pictures, New York, NY (2015); Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO with Matt Sheridan Smith (2011); and Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL (2009). Group exhibitions include Renaissance Society, Chicago, IL (2026); Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL (2024); Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art, Buffalo, NY (2021); Melanie Flood Projects, Portland, OR (2018); Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL (2016); and DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL (2013). His work is part of the permanent collections of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY; DePaul Museum of Art, Chicago, IL; and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL, among other institutions. Opera’s work has been reviewed by publications including Artforum, The New Yorker, Flash Art, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Rail, The Buffalo News, and Chicago Artist Writers. He currently is Program Head, Photography and Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo, NY.