Brilliantly bold, bright, and brash, Jordan Robert's artwork regularly stops spectators in their tracks.

 

“I love color,'' he said from his paint-splashed kitchen, adorned top to bottom in eye-popping graffiti, like a New York City subway car.

 

Robert's arresting, color-saturated paintings feature everything from geometric shapes to random body parts, rendered with strong lines, comic-book hues and a touch of whimsy.

 

“My early influences were Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso,'' said the Cooper City native, 25, whose work is sometimes confused with that of another South Florida color devotee, Brazilian artist Romero Britto.  

 

“But instead of copying anyone else, I've created my own unique style that combines contemporary, abstract, pop art and Japanese anime cartoon art.''

 

Though Robert has only been painting for a few years, his work has already caught the eye of many local art aficionados and collectors.  They have been discovering him through word of mouth, as well as through a front-page profile several months ago in Applause, a local art newspaper.

 

“After the newspaper ran a front page color photo of one of my paintings, it sold out its entire run,” he says. “They told me people wanted that image and continued to request reprints for a few months afterwards.”

 

Robert’s renown is also spreading through well-received appearances in art galleries from West Palm Beach to Miami. Currently, a selection of his paintings and painted furniture is a popular draw at the Art Fusion Gallery's “Interlocking Sequences” installation in Miami, which features art by 30 internationally recognized contemporary artists.  Closer to home, he has about a dozen framed prints on display at popular restaurant Beverly Hills Café in Cooper City, where they are available for sale.

 

Robert's original acrylic paintings are priced from $500 to $5,500, and range from 20 inches square to nearly six feet in length. His canvases are gallery-wrapped and ready to hang, and framing is also available if customers prefer.  For art lovers on tighter budgets, he also creates limited-edition giclée prints of his originals.  These museum-quality replicas are signed and dated, and are priced from $200 to $300.

 

As his reputation grows, so is the demand for custom-designed work.  Robert is regularly commissioned by new and current clients to produce painted furniture and paintings in custom shapes, sizes, and colors, matching his work to paint chips or room décor.

 

“Before I begin, I like to see the rooms where my work will live – that inspires me to create the pieces that will create the most impact,'' he said.

 

Robert, who says he can’t ever remember not painting, earned his first accolades for his talent in kindergarten, when he won an art contest at Griffin Road Elementary in Cooper City. 

 

“I took every available art class during my school years and was the only Advanced Placement student taking college-level art classes at Cooper City High School,'' he said.

 

Today, Robert paints nearly every day, often into the wee hours when there's little chance of distraction. He is also a frequent visitor to galleries throughout South Florida, both to keep abreast of the local art scene and to network with other artists and collectors.

 

“I'm doing everything I can to become a recognized artist, and in five to 10 years, I envision myself as one of the biggest and most influential artists on the South Florida scene,'' he said. 

 

To many of his fans, he already is.

 

 

* What: “Interlocking Sequences,” art installation featuring Jordan Robert's paintings and custom furniture.

* Where: ArtFusion Gallery, 1 NE 40th St. in Miami's Design District.

* When: Through June 29.

* Information: Call the gallery at 305-573-5730. In addition, limited edition signed prints are on display at Beverly Hills Café, 5544 S. Flamingo Rd., Cooper City; 954-434-2220. For information about Robert or to purchase a signed and numbered print, call him at 954-684-9304 or visit www.jordanrobert.com.


Caption: JOANNE ZUCKER / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD

ARRESTING IMAGES:  Pictured in his graffiti-splashed kitchen, Jordan Robert and his colorful paintings are capturing the attention of South Florida art collectors.