I came across the works of so many amazing artists in South America one of my personal favorites is Fernando Botero, who’s art I was first introduced to while travelling around central Colombia in 2003. It was during this visit that I visited Botero Plaza and Museum of Antioquia in Medellín.
Fernando Botero Angulo was born 19 April 1932. He is a figurative artist and sculptor from Medellín, Colombia. His contemporary style is known as “Boterismo” and is of oversized people and animals.
He exhibited his first work in 1948, when he was just 16. It was in the 1950’s while he was studying in Madrid that he began to experiment with size. By 1973 he had moved to Paris and had begun to experiment with sculptures.
His most controversial work was in 2004 when his drawings and paintings highlighted the violence of the drug cartels in Colombia.
His painting “The Musicians” (1979) was sold for a record USD $2.03 million at an auction in New York in 2006, confirming him as Latin Americas most sought-after artist.
In 2012, he received the International Sculpture Centre’s Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award.
Today you can see his work in Park Avenue, New York as well as the Champes-Élysées, París. He has many pieces of art in museums in Bogotá and has donated many more to the Museum of Antioquia in Medellín. The Plaza at the front of the Museum – is a popular tourist site – and is known as Botero Plaza.
In the UK you can see his bronze sculpture “Broadgate Venus” at the back of Liverpool Street Station in London.
Are you a Botero fan? Which is your favourite piece?