Downtown: Pop artist's mural to be displayed downtown
Brazilian born Romero Britto will also kick off the Bow Wow Haus project to raise money for the Humane Society.
By BABITA PERSAUD
Published January 9, 2004
His art has appeared on Absolut Vodka bottles, BMW Mini Coopers and the cover of Michael Jackson's CD What More Can I Give.
Now, the art of Brazilian artist Romero Britto comes to downtown Tampa.
Today at 8:30 a.m., Britto will unveil a 60-by-50-foot vinyl mesh mural on the Gold Bank Plaza building at 601 N Ashley Drive.
The piece will feature four of Britto's most cherished dog images - all done in the Britto cubist style.
Britto (pronounced BREE-to) will sign the donated artwork from a cherry picker 75 feet from the ground. While in town, he'll also kick off the Bow Wow Haus project.
Spearheaded by Jay Goulde, executive director of the Outdoor Arts Foundation, the project is the sequel to the Tampa Bay Tour of Turtles three years ago. The foundation is a nonprofit organization designed to provide the Tampa Bay area with privately funded, community arts projects.
For the Bow Wow Haus, Goulde teamed up with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. About 40 artists, including Britto, designed "funky yet functional" doghouses, which will be displayed across the Tampa Bay area. Eighteen will go on view this weekend at the Tampa International Airport, followed by 13 at WestShore Plaza starting Jan. 13 and six at Ruth Eckerd Hall starting Jan. 19.
One doghouse will tour eight area Publix stores starting at the end of this month. Britto's house will be part of the airport exhibit.
The project will culminate with a gala auction May 8 to benefit the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and the Outdoor Arts Foundation.
Born in Brazil and currently based in Miami, Britto has become a leader in pop culture art.
His story has a fairy-tale quality. Britto, 40, grew up poor and used to draw and paint on scraps of cardboard and newspapers.
By the time he was 26, he was well-known in Brazil, Europe and the United States, where he exhibited and sold his work. He got his big break when he was chosen to add a splash of color to Absolut Vodka's high-profile ad campaign. His Absolut Citron bottle, featuring a heart surrounded by green and blue dots, was shown alongside such artists as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.
His paintings and sculptures have been displayed at 140 galleries nationwide. His work is currently featured at Syd Entel Galleries in Safety Harbor.
His style resembles Pablo Picasso sprinkled with pop art, a style called "neo-pop cubism." He likes bold colors, and his paintings have a playful feel.
He is famous for his portraits of famous people, including Michael Jackson and Gloria and Emilio Estefan. His works sell for up to $160,000.
Britto created a national ad campaign for Pepsi in Brazil and has a fragrance line called Britto Man and Britto Woman, "an aroma of celebration."
Celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Whitney Houston and Andre Agassi collect his art.
Critics say his art is nothing more than clever marketing.
But Britto maintains: "Art is too important not to share."
