Upclose with Romero Britto
Miami-based artist Romero Britto is one of the most prominent neo-pop artists of our time, whose artwork is featured in the collections of Michael Jordan and Whitney Houston. During his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, the friendly and charming Brazilian chats with Penny Zhou.
HK Magazine: Have you always been artistic since childhood?
Romero Britto: I grew up in a big family with eight children. Kids usually like art, they have this thing in them but don’t know what it is, and that’s what happened to me. My family was quite normal. We didn’t have paintings hanging on the wall or anything. But one of my brothers sold books, so I loved looking at pictures and images in those art books he sold. He also gave me a bunch of brushes. He was amazing.
HK: How did you start your career?
RB: I never went to art school. I love traveling so I wanted be an ambassador for Brazil while keeping art as a hobby. Plus, I made friends with this British diplomat and his family, who had a nice living and held beautiful parties, and everyone who visited their house had accomplished something special. But when I actually went to law school in pursuit of becoming a diplomat I discovered it wasn’t for me at all. Then I quit school, quit the whole idea and left Brazil, concentrating on my art. It was the right choice, but thinking back, it was such a crazy move. Now my son is 21, and I can never see him doing such a thing—quitting school and moving out of the country? No.
HK: Why did you choose to go to the US?
RB: At first I wanted to go to Europe because I had made a lot of European friends through that family I knew, and had spent a year in Europe before at people’s homes. But a friend of mine told me Miami would be a better place for me. I went, and my friend was right. Europe is a great place, but things there are too pre-established and static, and it’s difficult for people with no background to break through there. The States is much more vibrant, and I got to understand more about pop culture there. It was inspiring to see people who were not necessarily rich there who could also afford refrigerators and bicycles, and artists that spread their artwork all over the world. And that was exactly what I like.
HK: Can you imagine yourself doing anything else than painting?
RB: It’s hard. I love what I do, and I’ve been doing it for so long. Although I guess I would like to have a huge garden and take care of it. But then if I didn’t paint, I don’t know how I could afford to have such a garden. [Laughs.]
HK: You show a very cheerful and optimistic perspective of the world through your paintings—where does it come from?
RB: I think when people experience things in their lives, they digest and internalize them, processing the messages, and what comes out is often not so good. Then they will express themselves with anger and resentment. I’m simply not like that. When I feel upset, I want to paint happiness and hope. Yellow is my favorite color.
HK: What do you do for fun when you’re not working?
RB: Going out for dinners, spending time with family and friends, and a lot of dancing. I love dancing! I can dance all night, can’t stop! I also love animals. We’ve got two cats in the house. I would like to have dogs, too, but I wouldn’t want to have them and not be able to spend time with them. Plus in my house, the cats rule, if there were dogs, they’d totally be bullied by them. [Laughs]. I appreciate the animals, and I want them to stay in their own habitat. To have a bird and put it in a cage—I would never ever do that. It’s just horrible—I mean, that could be a person locked in a cage for eternity.