Codecat

Romero Britto arrived in Berlin again to present his latest paintings in the Automobil Forum Unter den Linden. Focused solely in Britto’s art, and tagged as the largest exhibition of his work, the show contained approximately 50 pictures in various styles and sizes. Additionally, a Britto-styled Bentley (Continental GT) was unveiled. This unique car will be auctioned for a MS fund in November, already bids are in from all over the world - including Dubai.

Britto-style Bentley

Come To My World

The car is certainly cheerful and not as over-the-top as I expected. Not that I would drive around Berlin in it - or through the dust and heat of Dubai, for that matter - but it IS bound to draw attention. I openly admit I have no idea what a plain model of this Bentley costs, and I am curious to find out how much this exemplar will fetch in the auction.

As the exhibition was presenting such a large number of paintings, it really displayed the various styles of Britto - and the price range. Shown were smaller images, less colorful images (you can spot a green one in the photo just behind the Bentley), huge images (I think the largest was 2,50m wide and almost 2m high), images with animals, and images with people. Since Britto had a good relationship with the late Michael Jackson, a large portrait of The King of Pop was shown.

Michael Jackson

Mona Cat

With a price tag of 120.000 Euros, the first original was sold right on the spot. And two more of it (!) are requested to be painted on commission. Personally, I find it sporting a bit too much white in the face (no pun intended). But arguably the image combines two great representatives from art, so this could be an instant classic. Only time will tell.

As always, another version of Mona Cat was present. However, the jiggly lines used gave Mona a somewhat insane look. I found the park scene most appealing, since I consider it a vintage Britto: bright, cheerful colors, packed, with people and animals, plus some bling-bling stars to top it all off. Not sure if any other picture boasts as many living beings as this one. The fish are a nice quote to the corresponding statues, as is the teddy bear. And the cats are also recurring guests. Not quite identified is the animal in the lower right corner, next to the flamingo… could be a dog…?

In The Park

The ranks

As noted above, Britto had a good relationship with Michael Jackson. A few year ago, he painted a series at the Neverland ranch. Those paintings were never shown or sold, remaining in the private vault of Romero Britto. For this show, he opened his private cache, and 15 unique copies could now be shown (and purchased, for a moderate price — unless you wanted to bag the complete set). Each painting had a high quality, but lacked the abundant colors of some of Britto’s other works. Nevertheless, a number of these images are really good and atmospheric. And, by the last count, I think 10 of the 15 were sold…

Britto images

Britto exhibition