ROBERTO ROMERO - Visual Artist and Designer
Roberto Romero is an Argentinian artist and designer born in Buenos Aires. He graduated in Literature from the Paris X - Nanterre University and has a Master's in Business Administration from the Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 University, France. He also studied Art History at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Visual artist and designer Roberto Romero makes decorative objects, lamps, and art pieces of wire and steel. He works with the sculpture technique using metallic threads, seeking lightness through hollowed-out pieces and the suspension of structures in the air.
He has lived in Rio de Janeiro for seven years, with a studio in the old Bhering chocolate factory. Previously, he lived in Argentina, Lebanon, France, Switzerland, and Colombia. Mapping the different cultures, he has had the opportunity to understand that their artisanal process is resignified based on local situations.
His works are inspired by Brazilian flora and fauna or studies of objects' shape, color, and shadow. This encounter of inspiration leads his pieces through three stages of creation until the final process—lines as geometric design, color as an imagery potential, and light as an expansion of their shapes.
Along this path, his projects cross the boundaries of design, architecture, and art, which expand to other understandings of these segments, considering the structures that address these challenges.
The production involves the participation of artisan labor from communities in Rio de Janeiro. These artisans are master craftsmen and welders who work in Carnival samba schools and collaborate with the modeling and welding of the pieces. In many cases, we are talking about small workshops where the workers are people from the same family, spouses, and children of the artisans, who participate in their manual work. In this way, it creates employment and allows the passing of technical knowledge to children from generation to generation.
The steel used to make the pieces is largely recovered and recycled from remains of costumes and carnival float structures, reusing the material. The main intention is to create more sustainable pieces, with the aim of reducing production costs and, at the same time, contributing to social awareness and reducing environmental pollution.
THE STUDIO - Atelier-R
The “Atelier-R,” a production space and showroom, is located on the fifth floor of the Bhering chocolate factory in the Santo Cristo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, in the port area.
The old metal structure factory was purchased in Hamburg in 1932, dismantled, shipped, and rebuilt in its current location. The result was a six-story industrial building with an area of more than 15,000 square meters. Today deactivated, it has been revitalized and has become a reference creative hub in the city with more than 80 ateliers of artists, designers, carpenters and other workshops for different activities related to handcrafted crafts. In its new activity, Bhering can now state that it has achieved important results, such as participating in Arte Rio and hosting the Rio-Design Week.
AWARDS & EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions
2007 "Obras de Arame", Sofitel Santa Clara, Cartegena de Indias, Colombia. 2008 "Obras de Arame", Sofitel Victoria Regia, Bogota, Colombia. 2009 Atelier openning, Bogota, Colombia. 2011 “A lei da selva”, Manzana de las Luces, Ministerio da Cultura da Nação, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2016 “Obras de arame”, Buenos Aires, Gallery Night (april), Galeria Salazar Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2017 Origami birds, Hotel Santa Teresa M Gallery by Sofitel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Origami birds, Galeria Salazar Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2018 "Seagulls Origami" et "Flying Birds", Hotel Pullman São Conrado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "Seagulls Origami", Novos Talentos Brasileiros, Morar Mais, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “Amélie” (Serigrafia)), Galerie Valk, Buenos Aires, Argentina. "Nectar", Bhering Factory, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2019 "Flying Birds", Bhering Factory, Rio de janeiro, Brazil. 2021 “Flying Pig”, (Serigrafia), Galeria Valk, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2023 Botânica (Serigrafia), Valk Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Group Exhibitions
2009 Salão Futuro, Semana internacional da moda, Bogotá, Colômbia. 2010 “Obras de Arame”, Buenos Aires Gallery Night (april), Galerias Santa Fé – RG em el Arte, Argentina. Arteclásica – Feira de arte moderna e contemporânea, Costa Salguero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Expotrastiendas – Feira de arte, La Rural, Buenos Aires, Argentina. “Semana das artes”, Galerias Santa Fé, Imaginário, Buenos Aires, Argentina. “Amostra Branca”, Galerias Santa Fé, Imaginário, Buenos Aires, Argentina. “Jóias de Autor”, mostra interdisciplinaria, Galerias RG en el Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2011 Galería Grillo, mostra interdisciplinaria, Punta del Este, Uruguay. “Entre luces e sombras”, Buenos Aires Gallery Night, Galería Imaginario, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Arteclásica – Feira de arte moderna e contemporânea, Costa Salguero, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2012 Paralela Móvel, Parque Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil. Tropical Insects, Galeria Louro & Canela, João Pessoa, Brazil. 2013 EGGO – Feria da arte moderna e contemporânea, Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina. “A maternidade”, Actual Galeria de arte, São Paulo, Brazil. “A maternidade”, Buenos Aires Gallery Night (October), Galeria Imaginário, Argentina. “A lei da Selva”, Experimenta, Semana do Design da Paraíba, Galeria Louro & Canela, João Pessoa, Brazil. 2014 “A lei da Selva”, Casa Galeria, Galeria Louro & Canela, João Pessoa, Brazil. Affordable art fair, Ciudad de México, Mexico. 2015 Paralela Móvel - Feira de Arte e Design Brasileiro, Mube, São Paulo, Brazil. 2016 Paralela Móvel, Mube, São Paulo, Brazil. High Design – Home & Office Expo, São Paulo, Brasil. 2017 Paralela Móvel, Mube, São Paulo, Brazil. Made - Mercado Arte Design Brasileiro, Bienal São Paulo, Brazil. 2018 Made, Bienal São Paulo, Brazil. Semana de Design Rio de Janeiro, Museu de Arte Moderna - MAM, Brazil. Flying Birds, New Brazilian Talents - Morar Mais, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2019 Made, Bienal São Paulo, Brazil. Paralela Móvel, OCA, São Paulo, Brazil. “Bala Boneco”, Centro Cultural Correios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2020 Abup - Feira de Decoração e Design Brasileiro, São Paulo, Brazil. Made “Not Cancelled”, Feira de Arte on-line Internacional. 2021 Centro Cultural Correios - “De casa com arte”, Rio de janeiro, Brazil. Abup, São Paulo, Brazil. Semana de Design de Milão – Apex Brasil “Brazil Design in Motion”, Milan, Italy. 2022 Abup, São Paulo, Brazil. “Pequenos Formatos”, Galeria FFAC, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2023 “Pequenos Formatos”, Galeria FFAC, Porto, Portugal. 2024 “Afetos Insurgentes - Corpos em Conexão”, Centro Cultural Correios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Shows
2008 Design e produção “Prêmios BIT” - Revista Allo (Parceria Swarovski Cristals), Bogota, Colombia. 2009 Expo arquitetura e design, Café George, Corferias, Bogota, Colombia. Prêmios BIT, Revista Allo, Bogota, Colombia. Lina Cantillo (Fashion Designer), LAF – Latin America Fashion, Madrid, Spain. Lina Cantillo (Fashion Designer), Colômbia Moda, Bogota, Colombia. 2010 Espaço Darwin, La Mersa, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2013 Casa Cor – Exposição de Arquitetura, Arte e Design; Espaço Léo Shehtman, São Paulo, Brazil. 2014 Casa Foa - Exposição de Arquitetura, Arte e Design; Espaço Grace Devecyan, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Estilo Pilar - Exposição de Arquitetura, Arte e Design; Espaço Grace Devecyan, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2015 Casa Cor, “Suite Master Infinito Particupar” por Pedro Tessarollo e Jairo Lopes, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Apto Alto de Pinheiros 067 Hermann Jr.” por Cilene Monteiro Lupi , São Paulo, Brazil. Casa Foa, Espaço Grace Devecyan, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Design e produção “Troféu IAB-Pb” Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil da Paraíba, Brazil. 2016 Design Week São Paulo, Loja Marché art de vie, São Paulo, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Unidade Shoji 04”, Paloma Yamagata, São Paulo, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Cozinha” por Bianca da Hora, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Quarto do Neto” por Tatiana Lopes e Tatiana Pessoa Mendes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Quarto do Casal” por Ana Cristina Cunha, Pernambuco, Brasil. Casa Foa, Espaço Grace Devecyan, Buenos Aires, Argentina. “Gallery Night” Galeria Salazar Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2017 “Flamingos Origami” Salone del Mobile de Milão, Espaço A lot Of Brasil, Milan, Italy. Casa Cor, “Casa do Bosque” por Olegário de Sá e Gilberto Cioni, São Paulo, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Arte + Cinema” por Bianca da Hora e Jacira Pinheiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Casa Cor, “Sauvage Suite” por Pedro Tessarollo e Jairo Lopes, Santa Catarina, Brasil. 2018 Casa Cor, “Empório Cine Lounge” por Cristina Cortes e Virna Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Living Sage” por Bianca da Hora, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Restaurante” por Juliana Amaral, Vitoria, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Expo Revestir – Feira Internacional de Revestimentos, São Paulo, Brasil. Design de Logo - Marca “Cerveja Sofia” Antwerpia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2019 Casa Cor, “Casa do Fauno” por Leo Shehtman, São Paulo, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Co_Dining” por Juliana Pippi, São Paulo, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Casa Conteiner Consentino” por Marilia Pellegrini, São Paulo, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Loft Gabbro” por Guel Arquiteos, Brasilia, Brazil. Casa Cor, “Casa Zoo” por Lívia Quintella e Ricardo Gutemberg, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Shopping – Royal Revestimentos, Vitrinas Assinadas por Viviam Reimers, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Shopping – Finish, Vitrinas Assinadas por Cristina Cortes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2020 Morarmais - Exposição de Arquitetura, Arte e Design; “Espaço Escritório do Artista” por Rodrigo Franco, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Design Oriundi, Idalia Store, São Paulo, Brazil. 2021 Casa Cor, “Livraria” por Vivian Reimers, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Morarmais, “Quarto dele” por João Amand, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Shopping - Artefacto, Vitrinas Assinadas por Cristina Cortes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2022 Casa Cor, “Café da Casa” por Vivian Reimers, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2023 Casa Cor, “Recepção " por Vivian Reimers e Ana Cano/ ” Sala de Podcast” por João Amand e Sophia Abraham, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Casa Cor , “Minha Morada, Meu Canto” por Cacau Ribeiro, São Paulo, Brazil. Distrito Design Ipanema – Loja Empporium Frei Caneca, Vitrina Assinada por Ricardo Melo – Rodrigo Passos, Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
CLIENTS
Brazil
Depot, Marché Art de Vie, Casa Que Tem, D-Space, Lz Studio, Mac Rio, D-Space, Augusta Loja, Galeria Korb, Zanin Ambientes, Casa Mix, H Stern Home, Feira na Rosembaum, Boobam, TV Globo Comunicação.
Argentina
Paul French Deco, Mayflower, Salazar Casa (Buenos Aires).
Uruguay
Paul French Deco – Beach (Punta del Este).
Spain
Puro Design (Barcelona).