Garden Butterfly

Heavily influenced by the Pop Art movement, Romero Britto has mastered the art of creating multiples. To reach out to the widest possible audience, he works with popular symbols. Examples from his Garden Butterfly series can be found in Monaco, Singapore, Prague, Miami, and Hollywood in Florida. The butterfly, a symbol of hope and lightness of spirit, perfectly reflects the artist’s optimistic worldview. Similarly, the vibrant block colours are full of positive energy. Britto draws his inspiration from Brazilian culture and its flamboyant carnival tones. Every one of his pieces, he says, must give hope.
While he fluctuates between more intimate painting and public sculpture, the artist works with every medium and every technique. Britto knows the Principality well, having painted portraits of T.S.H. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene in 2013, and exhibited five of his pieces at the Yacht Club de Monaco in 2019. This monumental sculpture installed close to the new Mareterra district is composed of three bronze columns standing 10, 12, and 15 metres tall. The work is an interpretation of Bernard Bezzina’s favourite theme: strength and fragility. The trio of peaks appear to rise together as one, in an exaltation of power. Yet like charred wood, the three elements with their rough and rugged surface evoke the Torn Wood series of which the artist is so fond. Standing above the Mediterranean, these monumental sculptures are a combination of the cosmic elements: water, earth, and air.
Romero Britto is a Brazilian sculptor and painter born in 1963 in Recife. Self-taught, his initial inspirations were street artists, before he discovered the works of masters like Matisse and Picasso while travelling in Europe in the early 1980s. The influence of Pop Art on his work is undeniable, yet he has developed his own distinctive and instantly recognisable style. His talent and positive outlook make his works a popular choice for advertising campaigns, and he has collaborated with major global brands including Disney, Bentley, Coca-Cola, Evian, Hublot, Mattel, and Audi. His vibrant colours have lit up major international sporting and music events, such as the Super Bowl, the Grammy’s, the FIFA World Cup, the Olympic Games, and the Montreux Festival. But Britto continues to exhibit in the streets of Miami, where he lives and has his studio.