Roberto Bernardi

Robert Bernardi (b. 1974) was raised in Todi, Italy, where he began oil painting from a very early age, with his artistic formation influenced heavily by his obsession for detail and a desire to learn traditional painting techniques.

In 1993, he moved to Rome to work as a restorer on the Church of San Francesco a Ripa. He quickly shifted away from restoration work to pursue his career as an artist full-time. Initially, his focus was landscapes and portraits but it was in his near-hyperrealism work that he found his voice as an artist.

In 1994 he held his first solo exhibition in Rome, and since then has received international recognition through his 15 subsequent solo shows and his collaborations with over 100 group shows in prestigious gallery locations such as New York, Paris, London, and Singapore.

In recent years, his work has evolved, with his hyperreal compositions increasingly influenced by the Pop Art movement. The main focus of Bernardi's high-definition sculptures are often lollipops and sweets, subjects for which the artist has acquired fame over the past 20 years. His sculptures are well received at recent auctions such as Sotheby's (2023) and Phillips (2022) where they sold for twice their estimated price.