Great Big Story｜He's the Most Licensed Artist in History

These are the works of Romero Britto, their joyful, simple and you may start to notice they're all over the place. But who is Romero Britto? And how did he become so prolific that he is the most licensed artist in history? Let's start with the basics.

Romero Britto is an artist more specifically a contemporary artist who blends pop art with Cubist-like abstraction. And the subject matters that I do is very simple, very direct. I'm very consistent on my colors, and then the lines is trite little things that I put in my work that is part of my vocabulary.

He was born in Brazil to a big family and growing up was pretty tough. My mother had like 12 kids, I wanted to get out of the house, because it was chaotic. And little did you know, art would become his ticket out. Since I was a kid, I always liked drawing, but I never knew that it would change my life.

At age 25, he moved to Miami where pop art was flourishing. I was like they know what I love America, I love Miami particular because such a dynamic city. With no formal art training, he would paint on newspapers and on the streets, the only canvasses he could afford. Before I show my work in galleries, I show my work on the sidewalks of Miami.

He was able to move into a small studio, soon getting his first brand deal with Absolut Vodka, and from there his career took off. Disney, Coca-Cola, Mattel, Samsung, luggage, lamp, swatches, bananas, if you can slap a print on it odds are there's a burrito version of it. His sculptures are in train stations, shopping plazas, hotels, and corporate headquarters, the guy has done the Super Bowl the World Cup and the Olympics. So yeah, Romero Britto is everywhere. How many pieces of art I've done, oh my god, listen, you know it's pretty hard to keep track of it. Left you thousands.

To keep the business going, he's hired dozens of employees. And the scale of the operation is staggering. People say that I'm the most licensed artist in history. So I'm very honored for that because it means that my work is reaching out to millions of people. I just don't want my work to be enjoyed by the elite of the world, but I want my art to be enjoyed by the masses as well. But nevertheless, Romero's art has caught the attention of celebrities and heads of state, all over the world.

All those pieces are here are prototypes, and a trillion dollars. People tend to say that if you are colorful and you're fun you're not serious, but I do think we all searching for happiness. And to help others see this happiness, Romero's company has donated to over 250 charities, including the Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami.

If we see all the time darkness when there's gonna be a moment of brightness, everything about my work is things that I think is very pleasing to my eyes into my heart and make me feel good, because life should be about fun.

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