When you first see Mario Loprete’s work, you’re instantly reminded of the early days of Andy Warhol. Loprete’s paintings have got much of the same zaniness that Warhol’s pop art had, and we can’t get enough of it.
The artist describes himself as “one of those dreamers who never stops dreaming”, and actually says the art world is riddled with misconceptions. For one thing, Loprete says believing in your own goals and your project shouldn’t mean you believe in others any less.
“Sometimes it is believed that an artist who blindly believes in his project may appear presumptuous. In reality, I have always valued the work of other artists and I have always tried to treasure my negative experiences.”
Looking at his work, you can see that Loprete is a man of incredible integrity, and an artist powered by his ambitions and his guiding principles.
“One of my greatest wishes is to come to New York as an artist. I could have visited it for at least 30 years, but I made it a rule that if one day I’m in New York it will only be because an important art gallery has set up a personal exhibition of mine.”
For Mario Loprete, seeing that the dream wasn’t coming about as easily as he would’ve liked never meant the dream was stupid. It meant he needed to have faith, and try a little harder, and in the end, that’s the grit that helped him succeed.
Mario Loprete first shot to fame when world-renowned rap artist and public personality Snoop Dogg shared his work with his 60 million followers on social media. His work garnered even more public attention when Harvard Magazine, the eponymous university’s official magazine, hosted a party honoring his art. Those two events combined helped expose the public to Loprete’s one-of-a-kind art style, and he’s been growing his brand ever since.
With the help of social media, the artist has been able to grow his audience. Getting more eyes on his work also meant signing new deals. Currently, Loprete has not one, but three exhibitions in the works for the coming years.
Loprete recounts discovering his artistic abilities at a very young age, but he does not equate that with becoming an artist, which he views as much harder work.
“You have to study a lot, learn techniques, discover which is the artistic process that best expresses the poetics, and then you have to think like an artist having the utmost respect for your work and demanding the same respect from those who judge it.”
It’s clear Loprete is not one to compromise the enormous respect he has for his art, and more power to him.
However grateful he is for the opportunity; Loprete knows to take fame and social media with a pinch of salt. Asked what advice he’d give young creatives, he says:
“Believing in one’s abilities, obeying only his poetics without letting oneself be enchanted by sales and fighting against those who will snub your work with facts, with work, with study and with the devastating force of your work.”
