Romero Britto
Ahmad Minkara M'07
Through his vibrant colors, joyful themes and commanding
compositions, Romero Britto has become one of the most important living
Artists in contemporary Pop Art. Upon inspection, there is an almost magical
quality to Britto's story. The eighth of nine siblings growing up in an
impoverished home, Britto's humble beginnings led to his personal vision
that everyone should enjoy and live with art. This definitive belief influenced
his artistic style and subject matter and is often described as Neo Pop.
Britto creates a completely new expression that reflects his optimistic
faith in the world around him while alluding to influences of early and
modern masters. The global art community has embraced Romero Britto with
private and corporate commissions, exhibitions and museum shows. This overwhelming
success has reinforced Britto's belief that "art is too important not to
share". As a result, Britto has given his time, talent, and funds to hundreds
of worthwhile philanthropic organizations. The realization of this dream
come true is ongoing for Britto, who maintains a studio open to the public
for anyone and everyone to enjoy his art. This natural inclination
for Britto to express himself visually became apparent to those around him
from his early childhood. Born in 1963, in Recife, Brazil, Britto often
painted images from his active imagination on scraps of cardboard and newspaper.
Britto's large family nurtured his developing skills by providing art books
for him to study. "My Mother raised us by herself and I remember being alone
a lot of the time with papers and paint. I would sit and copy Toulouse Lautrec
and other masters out of the books, day after day." That this pastime became
the crux of Romero's vision is no surprise. He said, "As a child growing
up poor in Brazil, I was introduced to the darker side of humankind. The
result was that I started painting to bring light and color into my life."
By
the age of fourteen, Britto received honors at his first public exhibition
held by the Organization of American States. Although encouraged by this
early success, the modest circumstances of Britto's life as well as his
strong respect for discipline led him toward more practical, academic pursuits.
Britto received a scholarship and went on to study law at the Catholic University
of Pernambuco. However, law and government created a lifestyle that seemed
too pessimistic for this Artist, who is constantly in search of happiness
in everyday life. Thus, after two years, Britto made a life defining choice
to explore his natural inclination for art. Immediately, Britto
traveled to Europe and found success at one man shows in both Germany and
England. However, the works of American Pop Artists, captivating in their
candid displays of popular culture, drew Britto to the United States. Thus,
by 1989, Britto made Miami, Florida his permanent home where, the diverse
cultural landscape and tropical beauty remind him of his native Brazil.
Almost immediately, Britto's art was identified by private and corporate
collectors for its ability to express his positive and energetic outlook
on life through his art. Gerard A. Houghton stated of Britto's London show
in 1999, "His work overflows with an exuberant vitality and self-confidence
seldom seen in western art since Cubism". In a multitude of mediums and
endless themes, Britto's work seems inspired by the primitive ideas of the
early modern masters combined with the approach of his Pop contemporaries.
Simultaneously present are the exotic flavors of rhythm and culture gifted
to Britto from his Brazilian homeland. As such, Britto's style today has
become well known for his unabashed representation of life celebrated through
vibrant colors and hard-edged compositions. Revealed in peaceful,
playful, sensual, and perpetually joyful themes, Britto's people, animals,
flowers, and sunsets reveal the enthusiastic potential of everyday experiences.
"To achieve such airborne emotions, Britto has invented his own pictorial
language. With brilliant colors, harmonious shapes, and pleasing patterns,
his art is an art that demands to be taken on its own terms," says Eileen
Guggenheim of Britto's art in the Museo de Bellas Artes in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Britto's daring combinations of color, size, pattern and prospective
are quite deliberate. The varied thickness of Britto's black outlines enhance
the depth and form of his subjects. His precise stripes and polka dots create
textures that further describe the subject matter as three-dimensional characters
and places. Most distinctive is Britto's own signature as a design element
in each of his canvases since 1992. These elements combine to create a style
that is fresh and invigorating and can be understood by all. 
Often described as Neo Pop, Britto's art has moved beyond the philosophy
of Pop Art as a reflection of popular culture toward an art that has become
a pop icon. Britto's art does not only hang on our walls but is incorporated
into those everyday items that we enjoy - couture fashions, postage stamps,
and PepsiŽ cans! The potential impact of his art on others is powerful and
at the same time humbling for Britto. "My inspiration continues not only
for the person who commissions my paintings but for the laborer who reaches
into his pocket for his last few coins to purchase a Pepsi and perhaps smile
at my painting on the can." This truly contemporary vision continues
to grow and develop. While Britto primarily creates with acrylic on canvas,
his work also includes grand sculpture in both aluminum and wood. The dynamics
of three dimensions allows Britto to further explore his talent and communicate
to his audience. His "Welcome" sculpture in Miami Dade's Datran Station
will be not only Britto's largest sculpture at 40 feet tall but also Miami's
largest public sculpture. At his studio, Britto Central, Britto demonstrates
other new artistic explorations on man-made, functional objects of plastic,
glass, aluminum, and ceramic. 
Corporate collectors are enamored with Britto's innovative approach to fine
art. Shortly after Britto arrived in the United States, Michel Roux, founder
of Absolut Vodka's Absolut Art Ad Campaign, happened by Britto's first studio
in Coconut Grove, Florida. Roux quickly asked Britto to reinterpret the
famous bottle, which would be published and seen by millions. Consistently
challenging himself and his art, Britto has completed other corporate works
for Movado, Disney, Enrico Coveri, Pepsi, the United Nations, BMW and Royal
Caribbean Cruises. With each new project, Britto has the opportunity to
inspire a new group of collectors and promote his personal philosophy that
everyone should enjoy art. As Norman Braman stated of the new BMW Mini-Cooper,
"When we decided to reintroduce the Mini Cooper as the smile-generating
machine, it took only five minutes to decide that Romero Britto would be
our choice to paint this new classic." 
While Britto maintains, "I was born to paint life in a different way, rejoicing in the beauty our
world has to offer," he is certainly no stranger to hardship. It is this
fact which makes it understandable that Britto also shares his talent with
worthwhile international charitable organizations such as St. Jude's, the
American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and Best Buddies International.
While his art has been reproduced to help these and many other organizations
raise funds for their causes, some of Britto's proudest moments have come
from interacting with those who will specifically benefit from his art -
painting with children afflicted with often fatal diseases to simply visiting
with others who stay at the hospitals that own his oversize murals. Of course,
the financial needs of these organizations and the families whom they help
are always at the fore. In 1999, a Britto original, "Cheek to Cheek," brought
$100,000 at live auction to the Agassi Foundation in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Britto has prided himself for never saying "no" on any occasion to an organization
in need. In Britto's words, "I feel lucky to have been given the gift of
creativity so that I may share my vision of a better world. I will never
forget what it was like to be poor."
To date, Britto's art is shown in over 140 galleries worldwide. He has been
profiled in numerous national publications including People, Art News, Variety,
and Leaders. He lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife and son. His studio
in Miami Beach is open to the public and has become a meeting place for
school children, collectors and art enthusiasts. His talent and generous
spirit affect all those with whom he comes into contact. This is what makes
so many people want to live with Romero Britto's art everyday and why he
is the most celebrated Artist alive today. "For me, art can reflect
the celebration of the simple and good things in life. This is most important
to me!"
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