Eduardo Kobra


Eduardo Kobra, known as Kobra, is a street artist who officially began his career in 1987 at 12 years old, in his hometown of São Paulo. Since then he has painted over 3,000 murals on five different continents. Some of these murals are commissioned while others are his original, raw ideas. Kobra now works with a team of artists who paint between two and four murals each month. To this day Kobra continues to live and work in his hometown of São Paulo.

Biographical overview

Eduardo Kobra grew up in São Paulo which is known for being a large, but lower-class city in Brazil. His father was a weaver and his mother was a housewife. He did not get any official academic training, but became a well known, self-taught artist. Before he started his official art career, he enjoyed illegally tagging walls which eventually lead to several arrests throughout his teenage years.

Career

Eduardo Kobra was influenced by both modern and contemporary artists all around the world. He was specifically influenced by muralists such as Banksy, Eric Grohe, Keith Haring and Diego Rivera. His artwork is highly research driven. He rooted his artworks in art history by painting famous artworks in his own style in hopes of not only inserting himself into history but also bringing awareness to São Paulo as a town. He researched the science behind human vision, architecture, urban space and tri-dimensional projects because he wanted to understand how to effectively paint in order to give his viewer a specific experience. Due to the realism of his murals and the 3-D design of his work, the viewer is often confused because the human eye has a hard time differentiating between sculpture and painting on a flat surface. This confusion is his ultimate goal in his murals. Before painting a work that is site specific, he researches the history and culture of the city in order to situate the art in a city conclusively. Eduardo Kobra uses his own technique when it comes to street art. This technique involves airbrush and spray paint. By using these two mediums he is able to use immense detail, perfect aesthetic and rich light and shadow to make his objects appear 3-D.
The main goal of his work is to provide a space for the public to interact with his art. He did not want the public to have to go to a museum to see art, he wanted it to be accessible to all, thus pushing back against the difference between high and low art. During his teenage years Kobra ran with a well-known graffiti group known as "Hip Hop" in São Paulo which was who he began experimenting with street art as a career. By the 1990s Kobra made São Paulo the main site for contemporary street art. During this time, he began making posters for events that were held at the largest amusement park in Brazil, which was his first paid art job. The advertising he did for the amusement park was so successful that he began getting asked by other companies to produce advertisements for them.
In the early 2000s Kobra created his Memory Walls project. The goal of this project was to transform the appearance of an urban space through the means of a piece of art while also bringing back the lost memories of the city. He incorporated old photos of São Paulo that he spread throughout the town integrated within his trademark graffiti. This project was made up of smaller murals distributed throughout the city telling the story of the history of São Paulo while also showing the stark contrast between past São Paulo and the present São Paulo. In total, he used 10,000 square feet of space distributed around the city to complete his project. In 2007 the media got a hold of this project and began waiting with anticipation for what his next project would be. In 2011, Eduardo Kobra painted his first mural outside of Brazil in France. France invited him to come paint on a wall in a neighborhood on Lyon, France that was revived. They wanted to remember this time in their history and show the process of their revival in hopes of never losing sight of what their neighborhood has been through.
His career has continued as he is a still a practicing artist, painting in different countries around the world.

Legacy

In 2016 Kobra painted the then largest mural titled Ethnic Groups which celebrated the 2016 Olympic games. Then in 2017 he surpassed his own record when he painted a street mural that was 5,742 square meters.
Kobra has worked for a number of large organizations and public figures such as Playcenter, Beto Carrero World, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Chevrolet, Ford, Roché, Johnie Walker, Londice and Carmim.

Work

The following table lists Kobra's major works.
TitleLocationYear
RaoniPortugal2017
DaliMurcia, Spain2017
La Familia MonetBoulogne sur Mer, France2017
MadelaMalawi2017
Riches of St. LouisSao Luis, State of Maranhão2017
GandhiMumbai, India2017
DavidCarrara, Italy2017
ChristTokyo, Japan2016
MuddyChicago, USA2016
We Are All One Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2016
BedouinDubai, United Arab Emirates2016
Let Me Be Myself Amsterdam, Netherlands2016
Stop WarsMiami, United States2015
The Legend of BrazilSão Paulo, Brazil2015
Looks At PeaceLos Angeles, United States2015
HamletPalm Beach, United States2015
GonzagaRecife, Brazil2015
Great Bike RidingSão Paulo, Brazil2015
Club 27São Paulo, Brazil2015
Ziggy StardustJersey City, United States2015
The Times They are a-changin', Bob DylanMinneapolis, United States2015
Neil ArmstrongCincinnati, United States2015
MariarteMexico2014
RubinsteinLodz, Poland2014
RationalsSão Paulo, Brazil2014
The ThinkerSão Paulo, Brazil2014
Alfred NobelBoras, Sweden2014
MalalaRome, Italy2014
Fight for Street ArtNew York, United States2014
O CandangoBrasilia, Brazil2014
Tupac and Notorius BigMiami, United States2013
Ballet DancerMoscow, Russia2013
Abraham LincolnLexington, United States2013
Oscar NiemeyerSão Paulo, Brazil2013
The KissNew York, United States2012-2016

Analysis of individual artworks

The following table lists Korba's major exhibitions.
YearTitleLocationType
2009Eduardo KobraSalon National Des Beaux-Arts, Paris, FranceSolo
2009Production Panel8th Architecture Biennale in São Paulo, BrazilGroup
2009Urban Intervention in Painting in Three DemensionsSão Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro and Brazilia, DF, BrazilGroup
2009Mural Celebrating the Birthday of São PauloSão Paulo, BrazilSolo
2010First 3-D Painting in BrazilPatriarch Plaza, São Paulo, BrazilSolo
2011Mural UNE BiennialSão Paulo, BrazilGroup
2011Wall, London, RoundhouseLondon, UKSolo
2011WallLyon, FranceSolo
2011History of the Complexo do AlemãoComplexo do Alemão, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilGroup
2011ParadiseArt Gallery André, São Paulo, BrazilSolo
2011GreenpincelVila Madelana, São Paulo, BrazilSolo
2011Sarasota Chalk FestivalMiami, USAGroup
2011Art BaselMiami, USAGroup
2012PART Fair of Contemporary ArtPaço das Artes, São Paulo, BrazilGroup
2013PaulistaWalla Avenue Paulista near metro ParadiseSolo
2014The American Dream1AM Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USASolo
2015WallFifth Street and Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USASolo