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Artist statement:
Rio de Janiero is known for many things: free loving, sun drenched beautiful people with a passion for life and partying, as well as the low life criminal thuggery that plagues the city streets. There is much poverty and it is often something people are born and typically stay into because they lack opportunities to develop the vision and skills required to deal with the outside world. Quite the contrary with famed urban artist Krystiano D’Costa, who hails from one of the notorious suburbs of Rio, despite a struggling childhood being raised by a single Mom in a house no bigger than a 2-car garage on a meager seamstress’s salary, Krystiano not only overcame his humble beginnings but thrived because of them. His mother’s continual strength and unwavering encouragement gave him the tools to become a nationally recognized artist. Ever the entrepreneur, he started tattooing for money at 13 years old in front of supermarkets and flea markets. At 15 years old and being carted home by local police on almost a weekly basis for “tagging” buildings and eventually spending some time in juvenile correction, his mother decided to invest every penny she had for that month’s bills into her obviously talented son. He endured a 2-hour bus ride to go to the only shop that sold air brushes and from that day on, his destiny was set. She then enrolled him into a 2.5 year governmental fine arts program, specifically designed to get kids “off the streets” where he became the first-ever recipient of an award in a state-wide competition. He could not miss a day as there were thousands of poverty-stricken kids waiting in the wings to take his place. While at school, he started a class in his backyard for other neighborhood kids for $10 a week. Some of which approached his mother, many years later, inquiring about Krystiano. She was proud to say he had moved to the states and became a scenic artist. They requested she pass on to Krystiano that they were “graduates” of his backyard air-brush school many years previously and now were operating a business that produced 5000 shirts a month. After graduating from the art school program, Krystiano started a silk screening and outdoor mural company donning the likes of billboards and buildings which catapulted him into the commercial arena. After that, he opened a street wear clothing line and a storefront but the streets of Rio finally got to him. Thieves broke in and took everything he had and he was left with nothing, once again. Discouraged but not beaten, as by his mother’s example, giving up was not an option. He started yet another sign company venture and eventually sold everything he had to sail across the ocean to the “land of opportunity” with only his portfolio in hand and $300 in his pocket to try and give his newborn daughter a better life than the suburbs of Rio. Knowing little to no English, he started cleaning at night and hit the pavement during the day having his portfolio speak for itself with the dream of becoming a theme park scenic artist. 2.5 years later, he fulfilled that dream by becoming a scenic artist for Walt Disney World theme parks. His work entailed, completely restoring many well known rides and eventually spearheaded a 2-year training curriculum for future aspiring scenic artists. He also became a free lance consultant for Modern Masters, one of the industry leaders in paint and faux supplies, which has flown him throughout the world holding artist workshops. Simultaneously, he opened Krystiano Designs and rapidly became known throughout the region for his design and high-end finishes for multi-million dollar homes. His worldly and influential clients started requesting “pieces” of his art and it was a natural transition from finishes to canvas pieces.
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