Beto Fame: “I often say that my work comes from a world in which nothing arrives whole. Everything reaches us in layers, in fragments, often in excess. Collage became a way for me to organise this complexity without removing its inherent tensions.”
How and why did you start your artistic career?
I believe that some things in life are inevitable. My connection to art and architecture was one of them.
Drawing was my favourite activity as a child. As the only child of a single mother, wherever she took me, I would carry paper and pens with me, so they were always close at hand, and drawing and painting naturally became part of my everyday life.
As a teenager, I began painting murals in the streets of my neighbourhood. Spending weekends painting with friends was a defining experience, as it was during that time that I first began to see myself as an artist.
Wanting to deepen that relationship, I enrolled in the School of Fine Arts. Later, driven by a growing interest in the built environment, I transitioned to studying Architecture and Urbanism. After graduating, I worked as an architect for a period, but the creative freedom of art ultimately led me to dedicate myself fully to painting.
Today, I see no separation between these two paths. I am an artist whose practice is deeply influenced by architecture, and an architect who continues to think through painting.
How and why did you choose your expressive medium?
None of this emerged in a completely rational or premeditated way. I believe it was the result of an intuitive process, driven by experimentation and discovery.
My paintings are rooted in the logic of collage. I use collage not only as a technique, but as a way of thinking and constructing the work. Through layers and overlaps, traces and fragments emerge, forming compositions that I like to describe as scenarios.
I often say that my work comes from a world in which nothing arrives whole. Everything reaches us in layers, in fragments, often in excess. Collage became a way for me to organise this complexity without removing its inherent tensions.
In this sense, my works inhabit a space between conflict and harmony, order and accumulation. Rather than explaining something or offering answers, I aim to create images that invite viewers to slow down, look closely, and develop their own relationship with the work.
Can you tell us about your creative process? How does one of your works come to life? How long does it take you? When do you consider it finished?
The starting point of my work comes from the observations, sketches, and photographs I take during my walks. In the studio, I transform these experiences into painting. I start each canvas without a final destination in mind, because it’s precisely the lack of control and the joy of discovery that draw me in.
I try to give the work its own autonomy. The process feels like a conversation with the canvas: sometimes the dialogue flows and the painting comes together quickly; other times, regardless of the size, the piece demands a longer path and more time for my gaze to mature.
I believe the artwork itself tells you when to stop and shows you when it’s finished.
Personally, I do not have an ideal time for the realization of a work. I believe this is determined by many factors.
On average, however, I think I never take more than three working days to have an almost definitive global vision of it. Then, certainly, second thoughts, retouches or adjustments may happen even after a few days, but I do not have a fixed rule.
When can a work be said to be finished? I do not know. Some are clearly concluded, and I have immediate certainty of this, while with others it sometimes happens that I insist on retouching them minimally until I intuit an end, or desire one.
In general, I believe that some works are not destined to be called unfinished, but rather children of a state of passage, of repositioning, or of necessary experimentation.
Who are your favourite artists? Which ones do you draw inspiration from?
Artists like Hurvin Anderson, David Hockney, Portinari, Volpi, Do Ho Suh, Picasso, Luiz Zerbini, Jonas Wood, Noah Davis, Lucia Laguna, and Giorgio Morandi… I believe each of them contributes a little to my growth and identity as an artist.
THE ARTIST
Name: Beto Fame
Residence: London
FEATURED WORKS
FEATURED WORKS
Bio
Based in London and born in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro, painter Beto Fame investigates the construction of contemporary space and the sense of displacement through his work.
With a background in Fine Arts and Architecture from UFRJ, alongside extensive experience in mural painting, the artist uses the logic of collage as a structure of thought.
His paintings do not depict real settings, but instead combine fragments of vegetation, memory, and architecture in overlapping layers, creating familiar yet unstable images that challenge the invisible boundaries of urban space and invite viewers to negotiate their own meanings.