Meet Choni Ribeiro | Contemporary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Choni Ribeiro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Choni, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’ve always had a thing for art, way before I was a little kid. My mother and aunt always took me to a lot of museums and other art-related venues/shows. I think that instilled in me something about the arts. Since I was in school, I always doodled on the sides of the notebooks, it was my way of being focused in the class (it obviously annoyed a lot of teachers). When I got to University to study mechanical engineering, I found that I could no longer doodle anymore, the subjects were too hard and the course was too demanding for me to be able to do so. I did 3 years of intense focus on my degree, which I feel kind of really suppressed my artistic side. On year 4, I went on an exchange program to Chile (I’m originally from Portugal), and I now see that I started to free myself there. I remember going to the balcony after dinner, with just a notebook, my speaker and a glass of whiskey. Just listening to music and drawing/doodling things that came to my head. When I returned to Portugal I went to live in the capital city, as I continued to crave for and develop this freedom of making art. I started painting and then a friend of mine challenged me to create an Instagram account to show what I created. I thought “yeah sure why not?”. And from then onwards it was just elevating more and more the seriousness I put in my craft. Then it was a mere hobby, now it’s just what I want to be surrounded by for life. The initial mechanical upbringings are still reflected immensely on my paintings, you see a lot of rigid line drawings, with my signature line patterns, and paintings with geometrical forms. I believe my engineering brain really created this way of expressing, and it keeps me striving to go beyond and beyond what I put myself up to every time.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m really proud of where I stand at the moment in terms of my career. I took my Masters in Mechanical Engineering, but in the midst of my studies I found something that eventually I realized was my true passion: arts. I finished my degree and started working on a consultancy, where I’ve been for that past 3 years. I’m proud that I never quit on my “hobby” at the time (the arts side of my life), 5 years or so later, I’m still juggling both.

That resilience eventually got me to realizing that the Arts are my true passion (and mainly the creation of visual arts).
This resilience is what got me to where I am today. I still juggle both my job and the arts, but in the meantime I was able to evolve to the point where I did and sold out my first exhibition in my home country of Portugal. And now it evolved to the point where I’m able to be where I really wanted to be to develop my artistic practice and journey : Los Angeles.

Some friends of mine sometimes send me messages saying they want to pursuit this or that in their life, and want to know how I handle both sides of my life: my job, and my artistic practice. I tell them it’s sheer passion (which then leads to the needed resilience and self-belief).

I look back and I’m just thankful for all my journey until now, and for what is yet to come. I’m thankful for all the obstacles along the way, I now see they were just a test to see if I really wanted this. I guess I really do.
And this is exactly the story I portray in my paintings and drawings. Chapter by chapter, painting by painting, it’s the tale of this never-ending journey that we go through in life, while in pursuit of our biggest dreams.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First of all, I would take him to hang out with the friends I made since I moved here. There may not be many, but I really feel they are a true representation of what LA is about: the creativity running through everybody, the willingness to help and to conquer together rather than apart. With them, I would take my friend to West Hollywood/Melrose Ave. The sheer vibrancy of the neighborhood and its streets, I just feel freedom when I walk through the area.

I would definitely take them to through my normal weekend routine: starting by visiting the museums in DTLA (The Broad, the MOCA), going to Pizzanista in the Arts District (I don’t know why but I created the routine of going there regularly), go see the art galleries and stores there (Hauser and Wirth, MOCA Geffen and the Dover Street Market).
After that, I would take him to Malibu, Santa Monica and Venice, three incredible place by the beach (I come from living in costal cities in Portugal so that is important for me ahah).

I could not forget to take him to the Hollywood sign, to do a trekking in the hills, visit the Getty Center, drive through Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards, through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Some places I really like to go on a regular.

All in all, I feel LA is not a city to go do touristic activities, it’s a city for you to live the life of someone who’s living there. Really feel the vibes of LA, outside the things that show up on TV and the movies. Feel it for what it really is, because it’s just amazing.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I feel that I will always be in debt to two people: Francisca and Cristiano Mangovo. You were the ones that really made me go to the next step in my journey.

Francisca, you were the one that challenged me to create my first (art) Instagram account, to show everyone what I was creating. That led me to keep pushing more and more to get to ever greater heights in my artistic journey. And Cristiano Mangovo (a well known artist from Angola, that lives in Lisbon. Whose works I find superb) was the first person in the art world that really recognized something in what I was doing. Cristiano, you gave me the confirmation that I was on the right path, and because of you I eventually got my first solo exhibition, which I sold out in under a day from the opening.

You both got me to new heights, and here am I, pushing for the next level.
And for that I want to thank Barry, my art enthusiast friend from San Francisco, the first art world person I knew in the US, and Roxanne. You are the first people to start putting me in the next level: my artistic journey in Los Angeles, California.

I promise I won’t let any of you down. I can’t thank you enough.

Website: www.choniribeiro.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choni_ribeiro/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChoniRibeiro

Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/11132566614

Image Credits
Rui Murka Photographer