tuesday last saw the opening of pop artist romero britto’s royal portrait series, at the imitate modern gallery in marylebone- and what a splendid soiree it was!
more synonymous with painting the kings and queens of pop, from michael jackson to madonna, britto has now turned his pop art eye to the duke and duchess of cambridge. the three-part exhibition features four original oil-on-canvas royal portraits as well as a further series of numbered, limited edition prints and other collectibles including mixed media, fine art and sculptures.
the renowned brazilian born, miami based artist, is himself a modern day pop culture icon and has established himself as one of the leading pop culture artists of our time; counting elton john, bill clinton, madonna and prince charles as collectors. which is incredible, when you consider that he went from being a self-taught artist painting on newspaper, to sharing accolades with andy warhol and keith haring.
the trouble with private art viewings however, is what with the prosecco pouring aplenty, as you study each painting, your nose a little too near, you feel elated and enlightened and think, “hey, he missed a bit” and reach for your liquid eye liner. on this occasion however, we resisted. mostly, because britto himself was behind us, but also because there is a sort of seamless perfection to britto’s work. his vibrant pieces are fun, fluid and dreamy-like an lsd trip through the land of love.
on painting the royal portraits, romero commented "it was wonderful to create their portrait. i just adore their love story and what they represent for all of us…love, longevity and history”. try as we might, we didn’t quite convince britto to forever capture us on canvas, but hey, i guess for us lowly commoners that's what crap family holidays in the south of france are for...
To find out more visit: www.imitatemordern.com or www.britto.com
[aine herlihy]
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