Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lex Barberio. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lex, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My folks will say they’re not perfect parents but those who know them will tell you that they’re pretty close to it. I was a good kid but I think it was clear from a young age that I was different so I’m very lucky to have been raised by Bea and Ed Barberio.

The most extraordinary thing my parents ever did for me was recognize, even in the early days, that little baby me had a fire for creating. That fire in children is fragile and requires guidance so together they stoked the flame in me and provided the right amount of structure and love that showed me how to be in control of my future and carry the torch that they preserved into my adulthood.

I’m not a parent, but as the child of these parents, there are a few things I think they did right in raising an artist:

1. They showed an interest. I loved doing all types of art as a child (still do) and although my parents didn’t always understand my art, they always showed an interest in my interests and found ways to participate in those moments in meaningful ways. They contributed with everything from articles, to books, to art supplies, to conversations (and still do) and fueled my explorations.

2. They encouraged me to learn a craft. I had my first business when I was 11. I sold little clay puppies that I hand made along with tiny accessories, and raised over $200 for charity. From a young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of having a skill or a trade in life so that I could always rely on myself and not rely on an employer.

3. They made me learn the business. My parents don’t mess around. With both of them being badass business people, I’ve been writing contracts and invoices for as long as I can remember and every year for Christmas I get about 6 business books from Santa. Growing up, my parents believed it was equally as important for me to learn the business side of things as it was the craft so that’s something I focused on throughout my adolescence and has become increasingly important as the years go by.

4. They didn’t bullshit me. Great art is hard to come by, good art comes around every once in a while, and the rest of it is trial and error until you get to the other two. I like to ask the people around me for feedback while I’m working on things and if I ask my parents for an honest opinion, I’ll always get one.

5. They are my biggest fans. It really means the world to me that my family always shows up to support me. They come to every major show and are always the loudest and proudest in the room (my dad always takes pictures at the exhibitions so now he’s known as the Papa-razzi haha)– that means so much to me because my art is so personal.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an artist and an advertising professional and I work at both consistently on parallel paths.

On the advertising side I’m an Associate Creative Director at R/GA with an Art Direction background– that’s a fancy way of saying I focus on visual arts and concepts and I create everything from stunts to launches to branding to commercials for big brands. I’ve had the pleasure of working with very cool brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Cheetos, the XFL, Audible, Ally Bank, Verizon, and many more,

On the artistic side, photography is my main focus. I’ve been shooting for about 10 years now and I love taking pictures of people and amplifying their personalities through wardrobe, props, backgrounds, etc. I work a lot with the queer community so I have a lot of fun making my art and making people feel comfortable. I made my artistic debut as an official part of World Pride in NYC in 2019 and have since had my work published and shown at galleries and museums and have also had the opportunity to work with brands as an influencer through my work.

Have you ever had to pivot?

This is a really big one for me because it changed the trajectory of my life and it is largely due to my parents thinking outside the box for their outside of the box kid.

I was always driven to do what I was interested in, but high school didn’t excite me. When I (barely) graduated at the age of 17 and I had been accepted to one of the local colleges to study marketing, I was happy to be making my parents proud but not happy in the way you’d want someone to be while they’re embarking on the next chapter of their life.

At the time, I thought marketing was the closest field to professional creativity where I might be able to find a job that suited me. Marketing is the creative track you typically find in colleges and it’s more about preparing ads to go out in the world than it is that late night, dig deep in your soul kind of creative work I craved, but it was the best fitting option out of the ones I had so I went with it.

A few weeks later, after sensing my lack of enthusiasm, my parents presented me with a new option… Something I hadn’t considered before — skipping college and going straight to a portfolio school for advertising at The Miami Ad School. This pivot would allow me to do that deep creative work I sought as well as work towards a career I cared about.

The application inspired me and reignited my fire with prompts like describing my favorite video and why, shooting a photo series inspired by a different time period, and making a video pitch on why I should be accepted. I found my calling in life and I became the youngest student accepted to the photography program, graduated at the top of my class, and later went on to study art direction– the rest is history.

My parents pushed past their vision for me, and invested in my vision for myself and were able to help me make the right call that was right for me at the right time. 

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think creatives and non creatives require different things in life. We all have different passions and different callings so we are not one size fits all. My journey in becoming a creative was the right one for me but it’s not the right path for everyone. For any non creative parents out there worrying about the future of their creative kid, I urge you to look at things through their eyes and fuel their fire– they will light their own way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lexbarberio.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lexbarberio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexbarberio/