Meet the Spanish and Latin Artists Ruling the World

Known as the Spanish Banksy, SpY got his start as a graffiti artist in Madrid in the 1980s. In the ’90s, he started moving towards other artistic endeavors, such as making posters, billboards, and modern-day sculptures related to urban living. Now, you can see his work all over the world in places such as Spain, France, Chile, Russia, Italy, and Mexico.

Also from Spain, Lita Cabellut lives and works in the Netherlands, and her work is known all over the world. She’s known for her contemporary takes on classic fresco painting techniques focusing on the skin of the subject. She creates paintings, drawings, and sculptures, and also does photography, writes poetry, and makes videos.

Tomás Saraceno is an Argentinian artist living in Berlin, Germany. He’s well known for his famous floating scultures and huge interative art installations. He’s also dedicated to protecting the environment, and in 2015 initiated a project called Aerocene, exploring ways to create sustainable art. Saraceno is fascinated with spiders and creates art inspired by them. He is said to have the only three-dimensional spider-web collection in the world.

Antonio Caro, born in Colombia, is famous for his conceptual artwork, which often has an underlying political tone. Besides using traditional painting, Caro also implements techniques such as public installations, photocopying, and posters. He even uses materials with roots in indigenous cultural practices, such as salt or wood. These days, Caro’s politically charged pop art is known around the world.

Peruvian-born Mario Testino is one of the most famous fashion photographers in the world. His work first appeared in Vogue in 1983, and he’s been conquering the fashion editorial scene ever since. He’s photographed people such as Princess Diana and worked alongside designers such as Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Estée Lauder, Valentino, Versace, Calvin Klein, and Salvatore Ferragamo. You can see his work in exhibitions around the world and in many famous fashion magazines.

Famous for his signature style “Boterismo”, Fernando Botero creates paintings, drawings, and sculptures of oversized people. His work is located all over the world, in both museums and out in open air, on street corners and in parks. He occasionally paints still-lifes and landscapes, but is mostly intuitively drawn to painting and sculpting larger people. He explains that, “An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why.”

A painter, serigrapher, and sculptor, Romero Britto was born in Brazil but now lives in Miami, Florida. The artist is known for combining cubism, pop art, and graffiti and for using bold colors. As a child, he painted on whatever he could, and these days, you can find his colorful works in galleries as well as for brands such as Absolute Vodka, Disney, Pepsi, the United Nations, BMW, and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

One of the few artists on this list who is entirely self-taught, this Mexican painter was encouraged to stay away from formal instruction as to not impact her creative style. Growing up, López loved to sketch and would draw on anything she could get her hands on. She typically painted saints, horses, and seahorses, though these days, her work has expanded to include much more diversity. You can see her paintings in over 40 museums and galleries worldwide.