Belvedere

Flore

introduction

Christopher Florentino

Christopher Also known as Flore, is an artist whose work echoes influences of the late Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. Flore aims to strip away all of the filters society places on our lives, all of the habits we get stuck in, the rules we blindly follow, and the stereotypes we subconsciously subscribe to.

Flore always wanted to be a painter. "When I was little, growing up in Brooklyn, my Aunt Weezy picked me up and took me to the Museum of Modern Art. The next day in school the teacher asked the entire class, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” When it was my turn, I said, “I want to be a painter!” The teacher said, “Chris, that’s great, my husband paints houses for a living.” I said, “No, A real painter like in the museum.” She said, “Christopher, you mean an artist,” and I replied, “No, just a painter,” and smiled. “I am Flore a humble kid from Brooklyn, warm and full of love and passion. My mouth might cause trouble from time to time, you might hear me call you beautiful, but I’m just me. I just want to contribute.”

Flore’s passion for painting and art history is prevalent in his works, his distinct style merges pop art and street art together.

ART BY FLORE brings to mind the work of street and pop artists like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and George Condo. Using written words with layers upon layers of meaning both partially concealed and exposed, the artist attempts to deconstruct and reveal those layers inbuilt in society for what they really are. There might be a lot of distractions upon one of his canvases but look closely and think, they exist to represent how wrapped up we can become as a society while we continue with our daily lives.