"Romero Britto, The Modern Picasso"
My meeting with Rromero Britto
Guglielmo Magagna
5/8/20242 min read
Miami - December 2025
But who is Romero Britto?
Just like many of you, I had never heard of this Brazilian artist either. The day I met him turned out to be one of the most absurd and eye-opening moments of my life.
Born in Recife on October 6, 1963, he has curly hair, freckles on his face, and a brilliant smile that lights up the moment his eyes catch sight of something or someone curious.
This is the very first image of Romero that struck me inside his massive warehouse in Miami—a warehouse that looks like a giant yellow shoebox from the outside, but is packed with an unimaginable variety of products on the inside. That’s right! Romero is an artist, painter, and sculptor, world-renowned for his ultra-colorful masterpieces and thousands of collaborations with every single famous person of this century. And I mean everyone.
Some describe him as the new Picasso, others as an extraordinary artist. As for me—who didn’t know him before—I just looked around completely bewildered. His world is overflowing with colors, objects, photographs, dedications, and autographs... Where on earth did this guy come from? How did he manage to build all this?
The truth came to light about an hour and a half after our first meeting. We were in his studio for an interview, and once we finished setting up the set, I finally realized who was standing in front of me.
Romero was born in a Brazilian slum, in absolute poverty. Yet, as he grew up, he knew how to transform his difficult circumstances into an opportunity, using nothing but creativity and courage.
After moving to Miami, he worked as a paperboy, delivering newspapers to people on the street. It was right there that he discovered his calling as an artist, drawing small, and above all, incredibly vibrant and colorful artworks directly onto those papers.
Fortune favors the bold, and in just a few short years, that simple paperboy went on to collaborate with the world’s leading personalities and major global brands.
The second time I met him was about a year later, back in his yellow warehouse and always with that signature super-smile stamped on his face. He remembered exactly who I was. On that occasion, we had much more time to talk and get to know each other, so much so that I even went out on a limb and suggested a new artwork for my beloved Verona... a Romeo and Juliet, Britto style.
In short, this man has been a true source of inspiration for me. With his simple yet bold ways, he managed to turn his fate around and change the lives of so many people.