Britto, the Miami Vice!!!

Romero Britto arrived in Miami in the late 1980s to become part of the greatest urban turnaround in the US South. Indeed, as other spots in the US geography and Mexico and Costa Rica began to compete with Miami as retirement destination the city took a development dive. Decay was visible everywhere, crime rates began to mount and the Colombian drug cartels took over the city finances, as unsuspecting bankers welcomed their sizable deposits. Miami Beach lost its allure as Hollywood Stars decided to vacation either at the keys or at Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.

But, as the debt crises battered Latin America and the US began a cleanup operation in Florida the city slowly but surely became the precious gateway into the US market for Latin American private concerns in dire need to nurture their export muscles. It also began to become the operating platform of choice for European multinational corporations engaged in business in Latin America . Miami’s Latin flavor planted by the large Cuban immigration of the 1960s allows these corporations to adjust products and services to their Ibero American customers while enjoying the US corporate advantages.

Miami began then to attract talent. Britto was one of the most fortunate acquisitions for the city.  Born in Recife, Brazil’s Venice which is crossed by over 50 medium and small rivers as well as brooks, Britto is the artist of movement. Described by most news articles as a new-pop artist who is also a painter and a serigrapher Britto transcends categorization. Like the abundant element of his birth city Britto is always flowing into something better and more enriching.

His growing-up environment placing significant constraints on his capacity to express his artistic thought due to lack of money to acquire materials have prompt him to glorify daily life in his sculptures; paintings and products. Upon arrival to Miami Absolute Vodka owner Michael Roux saw in Britto the talent to reinvent products by means of immersing them in the Latin taste aesthetics thereby turning a simple suitcase into a work of art. Consequently, the world famed Absolut bottle experienced the most successful makeover.

Contracts with Disney. Carnival Cruises and other multinational corporations followed. But this product recreation is only part of Britto’s creative ethos. His paintings and sculptures which he enjoys creating bring life; tropical colors, optimism and joy to spaces. And they convey the message of Miami’s trues nature: a city in transformation where fine arts; commercial developments and multiculturalism are intertwined to create a brave new reality embodying North and South of the Americas hemisphere.