María Gabriela Brito (born 1976) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n-born curator, art advisor, and author based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Her published works include ''How Creativity Rules The World'' published by HarperCollins in 2022, ''Out There: Design, Art, Travel Shopping'', published by Pointed Leaf Press in 2013, and ''Greek Gotham'', published in 2016.

Early life

Brito was born and raised in

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. She graduated from Católica University in Caracas and then from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 2000.

Career

After law school, Maria moved to New York City to pursue a career as a corporate attorney. She started collecting

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

in the same year while working at the law firm of

Cahill Gordon & Reindel Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP (founded 1919) is a New York-based international law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and London. The firm is prominent in the practice areas of capital markets and banking & finance. History Cahil ...

. After nine years practicing law and acquiring art, Brito opened her own interior design and art advisory company, then called Lifestyling by Maria Brito (now María Brito, LLC). Brito has worked as an art consultant and interior designer for

Sean "Diddy" Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

and

Tracy Anderson Tracy Anderson (born March 3, 1975) is an American fitness entrepreneur and author. She is best known for her ''Tracy Anderson Method'' and for having various celebrity clients. Early life and career The daughter of dance instructor Diana Ephlin ...

, among others. In 2014, Brito launched her first collection of luxury fashion accessories in collaboration with contemporary artists

Kenny Scharf Kenny Scharf (born November 23, 1958) is an American painter known for his participation in New York City's interdisciplinary East Village art scene during the 1980s, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Scharf's do-it-yourself pract ...

, Erik Parker and Carlos Rolon/Dzine, and the collaborations have expanded to include more than 50 different products designed by Brito with a variety of artists including

Katherine Bernhardt Katherine Bernhardt (born 1975; Clayton, Missouri) is an artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. Work and career Bernhardt received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the School of the Art Inst ...

, Nir Hod and

assume vivid astro focus assume vivid astro focus (avaf) is both an alias of Brazilian-born New York-based artist Eli Sudbrack,Wilson, Michael (2003) "Assume Vivid Astro Focus: Deitch Projects.(New York)(artist's work is combination of psychedelia and glam, pop kitsch and k ...

. Brito is also a writer and public speaker about the interdisciplinary approach of integrating art and design.

Greek Gotham

In the summer of 2016, Brito curated her first contemporary art show, titled Greek Gotham, in Mykonos, Greece. Consisting solely of New York-based artists, the exhibition featured works from

Nina Chanel Abney Nina Chanel Abney is an American artist, based in New York. She was born in Harvey, Illinois. She is an African American contemporary artist and painter who explores race, gender, pop culture, homophobia, and politics in her work. Personal life ...

, Greg Bogin,

Mira Dancy Mira Dancy (born 1979) is an American painter. Dancy is known for her paintings on plexiglass of nudes, often executed in bright fluorescent colors. Since her January 2015 show at Night Gallery in Los Angeles, her work has been in demand from Hong ...

, Raul De Nieves, Michael Dotson, Sebastian Errazuriz, Nir Hod, Todd James,

Misaki Kawai Misaki Kawai (河井美咲) (born 1978 in Ōkawa District, Kagawa, Ōkawa, Kagawa Prefecture, Kagawa, Japan) is a Japanese artist. Her work has been shown extensively in the United States. "Her father was an architect and amateur painter and her m ...

KAWS Brian Donnelly (born November 4, 1974), known professionally as Kaws (stylized as KAWS), is an American artist and designer. His work includes repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs, some dating back to the beginning of his c ...

Robert Lazzarini Robert Lazzarini (born September 22, 1965 in Denville, New Jersey) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. He has been exhibited nationally and internationally since 1995 and is included in major collections such as the Hirshho ...

, Austin Lee,

Taylor McKimens Taylor McKimens (born 1976) is an artist based in New York. His work is informed largely by his childhood in Winterhaven, California, and life in the small town on the Mexican border. McKimens was born in Seattle, Washington. He received his BFA fr ...

, Matthew Palladino and Erik Parker.

Publications

In 2013, Brito’s monograph ''Out There: Design, Art, Travel, Shopping'' was released. The book outlines her personal experiences transitioning from law into a creative entrepreneur, her initial art and design projects as well as an insider's guide to art and design. Published by Pointed Leaf Press, it was the recipient of the USA Best Book Awards in both the Art and Design Categories, and received reviews from

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

, DuJour Magazine, and Vogue Mexico. ''Greek Gotham'', an art catalogue published by Dio Horia in conjunction with the exhibition, was released in 2016. It features an introduction by

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ( ...

. Brito is also the author of the best seller ''How Creativity Rules The World: The Art and Business of Turning Your Ideas Into Gold'' (HarperCollins Leadership March 2022), which won the Axiom Book Award and the International Book Award both on the entrepreneurship category and was selected by Next Big Idea Club as one of the best creativity and business books of the year.

TV Series

In 2019, she created and hosted "The "C" Files with Maria Brito", a TV and streaming series for the public media platform "ALL ARTS". Guests included contemporary artists

Sanford Biggers Sanford Biggers (born 1970 in Los Angeles) is a Harlem-based interdisciplinary artist who works in film/video, installation, sculpture, music, and performance.

, Swoon,

Juliana Huxtable Juliana Huxtable (born December 29, 1987) is an American artist, writer, performer, DJ, and co-founder of the New York-based nightlife project Shock Value. Huxtable has exhibited and performed at a number of venues including Reena Spaulings Fine ...

Hank Willis Thomas Hank Willis Thomas (born 1976 in Plainfield, New Jersey; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. Early life and education Hank Willis Th ...

and the art collective For Freedoms.

References

External links

Official website "The "C" Files with Maria Brito"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brito, Maria Gabriela 1976 births Living people Andrés Bello Catholic University alumni Artists from Caracas Artists from New York City Harvard Law School alumni Venezuelan designers Venezuelan emigrants to the United States Venezuelan women lawyers Venezuelan women writers Writers from Caracas People associated with Cahill Gordon & Reindel