We’re looking forward to introducing you to Pedro Real. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Pedro, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity, not even close! I cherish intelligence and energy, naturally. But I believe we are in an age on white noise, convolution, of drowning out in the volume of information we are subjected to. In that sense, I value integrity deeply and urge my fellow creatives to nurture their integrity, entirely – not only because it is an effective technique to stand out, but because as the makers of culture, we ought to reclaim the humanity in the art we make. The only actionable way I see to accomplish that is through integrity.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Pedro Real, I am a… painter (artist, but, let’s go with painter, make it easy!) from Brazil. A little while ago, I shut myself off in my studio and created a large-scale show about the protests of Paris, May 1968. I know what I created is truly special, and I know that when I talk about it my eyes light up in a way that people like seeing, be it in interviews, writing, or just meeting me somewhere the show is displayed. Ever since then, I have just found myself continuously astonished by how more relevant the shows seems to be getting – how the protesters, who I painted as mythological heroes, seem more needed now than ever. My mission has been getting these heroes out there, and it has been a true honor.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
I think my father is someone I’d like to name here. Which is funny, since he isn’t really a creative type at all. In fact, when he was my age he laboured in my grandfather’s small cattle farm, right next to the Uruguayan border. Yet, I find myself relating to the stories he tells a lot when I am at the studio. He would party all night, and be back at dawn for a whole day´s intense work – a true rebel, anchored by a mighty work ethic. This work ethic grounds me too, keeps me afloat and focused on the most important thing in my life, my work. There´s something to be said about farms and art. A farm is iterative, disciplined, demanding – as is fine art.
When did you last change your mind about something important?
Just the other day, actually. I was out with some friends, and I showed them a picture of a new painting I had been working on and they appreciated it – that stayed with me. I have been so wired to constantly build, reiterate, study, work introspectively so that I can streamline my path to my goals that I have been too reluctant to put myself out there. It´s a big mistake any artist, or any person with ideas can make. I think prior to this, my philosophy was much more around secluded work – but art is a shared endeavor, one of the soul. I need to let people in more!
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Expression. It is so important. True, unfiltered expression of oneself is incredibly scarce these days, always muddied up by algorithms, assumptions, and preoccupations. Expression, at its least ambitious, is clear communication, reaching out, conversing. At its most ambitious, it is a beautiful painting, a life-changing symphony, a fearless cry of protest. Expression is the source of all art, all community, all democracy. Therefore, it is by far the cultural value I cherish the most. People regard Brazilians as loud, open, and communicative. I love that and hope to live up to that assumption, for I see it as people noticing how much we celebrate our expression and its value. Remember, if you think I’m annoying now, I can always be louder, protest more, paint more, express more!
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people tell stories of how flawed I was. How frail, how human. Don’t get me wrong, this is because I hope this show, my painting work, and all else I do creatively is regarded as great. Larger than life. However, I hope it is clear to all that this work touches that I am, by every metric, very unremarkable. I think there is a very inspiring quality to that. We always think of greatness as something reserved to an elite of individuals. What if it was attainable to all of us? What if anybody who was willing to put in the work could attain unthinkable feats? That idea attracts me. So in general, I hope it is a tale of dichotomy, about the greatness of the work and the mundane in everything else – and I hope it motivates the most common guy ever to do something uncommon!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pedroreal.art
- Instagram: @artistpedroreal (expect more posts soon)!
Image Credits
Personal picture by Yuri Félix Das Neves
Canvas pcitures by Pedro Mamoré
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
