Lobo (artist)

Marcio Batista (born 19 November 1973), known professionally as Lobo, is a Brazilian painter of pop art. He has painted artworks for personalities such as Luciano Huck, Angélica, Sabrina Sato, and Michel Teló, among others. He has also participated in projects together with companies such as Heineken, Mercado Livre, and Viva Schin.
Lobo was born on 19 November 1973. He began his career in 1991 working at an advertising agency, where he was involved in packaging and labeling and merchandising. In his teens, he designed t-shirt art for several brands. After spending twelve years working with Publicity, in 2003 Lobo started painting.
At the beginning of his career, the artist signed as Lobao; later he took Lobo as his stage name. He portrayed icons of pop culture, and his paintings evolved over time.
Lobo started painting in 2003 and made his first exhibition at the Piola restaurant in São Paulo.
In 2006, the artist, who still signed as Lobao, accompanied the Rock Band Jota Quest on its tour, Até Onde Vai, with an exhibition of works that depict music, clips and scenes from the Minas Gerais band.
In 2008, the Brazilian version of Rolling Stone celebrated two years of activities in the country, with a party with the theme "Attitude that changes the world". To illustrate the theme, the magazine invited Lobo, who made an exhibition where he portrayed covers of the magazine and people who changed the world, such as Ayrton Senna, Elvis Presley, Paulo Coelho, and Bob Marley among others.
In 2009 Lobo took part in an exhibition at Casa Cor São Paulo, he contributed to the project with two canvases inspired by Burle Marx's work.
In 2010, he created a mural for the Bookstore of Livraria Saraiva, highlighting the Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, the poet Pablo Neruda and the writer Jorge Amado.
In 2011 he was invited to participate in the Brazilian Festival in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Held at the Mint Hotel, the exhibition "Sambadam" integrating cultural elements from the Netherlands and Brazil, the artist Lobo portrayed icons from both cultures such as Pelé, Carmen Miranda, Anne Frank (who spent most of her life in Amsterdam) and Caipirinha.
In 2013 he participated in the M – exhibition from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna. Lobo contributed two paintings to the exhibition.
In 2013, Lobo was invited by Gillette to participate in the launch of razors in honor of the Brazil national football team; the event took place in Miami.
In the same year he was invited by the Cartoonist Maurício de Sousa to participate in Monica Parade. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the character Monica (Monica's Gang), the city of São Paulo wins the Urban Interventionism which exhibits 50 sculptures made of Fiberglass which are 1.60 cm high and are fixed on a 25 cm base.
The statue made by Lobo was stolen at dawn, less than three hours after Monica Parede's team left it at the exhibition site at Rua Oscar Freire in Jardim Paulista. The case was under police investigation for several days and gained prominence in the media, newspapers and news in Brazil. After an anonymous tip indicating that the sculpture had been abandoned in Guarulhos, the sculpture was recovered. After a small restoration, the sculpture was placed on Paulista Avenue, in front of the Conjunto Nacional (São Paulo).
In 2014, Lobo was invited by Grupo RBS to paint live, during Marketing Network Brasil. The event was held at Hotel Transamérica, in Ilha de Comandatuba.
In 2015, Heineken celebrated five years in Brazil and, to commemorate the date, invited Lobo to illustrate the main achievements of Heineken since its arrival in Brazil. A three-meter screen of the artwork is displayed in the Heineken main office in São Paulo.
Also in 2015, the Artist participated in "Reciclalata", a Travelling exhibition composed of fifteen cans one meter in diameter, personalized by contemporary artists from different regions of Brazil. The show was developed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the aluminum can in Brazil.
In 2016, Viva Schin (Heineken brand), a Brasil Kirin soft drink brand, launched a line of collectible packaging inspired by the career of presenter Xuxa. Eight "Viva Xuxa" cans were created by Lobo.
In 2017, the 10th edition of Cow Parade Brazil took place, and Lobo was invited to portray and honor one of the forty-five cities. Inspired by the theme "a trip around the world" the statue painted by Lobo was a tribute to the city of Las Vegas.
Also in 2017, A Yázigi, the official sponsor of the Elephant Parade in São Paulo, invited Lobo to paint two elephants. Yázigi students created drawings and essays that transmitted messages to inspire three Brazilian artists in the personalization of life-size sculptures of baby elephants.
In 2018, the American television network Fox (Fox Broadcasting Company) invited Lobo to contribute his art to one of the sets of the series LA to Vegas.
Still in 2018 Lobo was invited by the company Mercado Livre to paint murals at its new headquarters in Florianópolis. The concept of the first mural (which measures 13 meters) was inspired by Brazilian cities, mixing icons to represent countries in Latin America where the company also operates.
In 2019, Fraport, a German company that won the bid to manage one of the main entrance doors in Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, invites artist Lobo to paint seven murals depicting the gaucho culture. The first phase of the new Salgado Filho Airport was delivered in 2019.
Also in 2019, Lobo was invited by Mercado Livre to paint the new distribution center in Cajamar. Mercado Livre is an Argentina e-commerce company which in July 2020 became the most valuable company in Latin America.
In the beginning he was very influenced by other artists such as Keith Haring and Andy Warhol. Later he developed his own style. The diversity of the culture of Brazil and Brazilian art and the music of the 1980s are cited as influences on Lobo's art.