Artist Index
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
Fernando Botero Angulo (born April 19, 1932) is a Colombian figurative artist, self-titled "the most Colombian of Colombian artists" early on, coming to prominence when he won the first prize at the Salón de Artistas Colombianos in 1958.[1]
Biography
Fernando Botero was born in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, where the Catholic church adopted the Baroque style. Throughout his childhood, Botero was isolated from traditional art presented in museums and other cultural institutes. He lost his father at the age of 4.[2]
In 1944, after Botero attended a Jesuit school, Botero's uncle sent him to a school for matadors for two years.[3]
In 1948, at the age of 16, Botero published his first illustrations in the Sunday supplement of the El Colombiano daily paper and used the money he received to pay for his high school education at the Liceo de Marinilla de Antioquia. 1948 was also the year Botero first exhibited, along with other artists from the region.[4]
From 1949 to 1950, Botero worked as a set designer, before moving to Bogotá in 1951. His first one-man show occurred at the Galería Leo Matiz in Bogotá, a few months after his arrival. In 1952, Botero travelled with a group of artists to Barcelona, where he stayed only briefly before moving on to Madrid.
In Madrid, Botero studied at the Academia de San Fernando.[5] In 1952, he traveled to Bogotá, where he had a personal exhibit at the Leo Matiz gallery. Later that year, he won the ninth edition of the Salón de Artistas Colombianos.[6]
In 1953, Botero moved to Paris, where he spent most of his time in the Louvre. He lived in Florence, Italy from 1953 to 1954, studying the works of Renaissance masters.[7]
Styles
Botero's work includes still-lifes and landscapes, but Botero tends to primarily focus on situational portraiture. His paintings and sculptures are united by their proportionally exaggerated, or "fat" figures, as he once referred to them.[8]
Botero explains his use of these "large people", as they are often called by critics, or obese figures and forms thus:
"An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it." ]
Botero is an abstract artist in the most fundamental sense of the word, choosing what colors, shapes, and proportions to use based on intuitive aesthetic thinking. Though he currently spends only one month a year in Colombia, he considers himself the "most Colombian artist living" due to his insulation from the international trends of the art world.[9]
Botero gained considerable attention in 2005 for his Abu Ghraib collection, which began as an idea he had on a plane, finally culminating in more than 85 paintings and 100 drawings.[10]
The Circus collection followed in 2008, with 20 works of oil and watercolor.
In an interview promoting his Circus collection, Botero said: "After all this, I always return to the simplest things: still lifes."[11]
Exhibitions
* "Fund-Raiser" Exhibition with Sonia Falcone at Calvin Charles Gallery [1] (2003) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
* "Botero at Ebisu" (2004) in Tokyo.
* "Fernando Botero" (2006) in Athens.
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (2007) in Quebec City
* "Abu Ghraib Exhibit" (2007) in University of California, Berkeley
* "Botero: Abu Ghraib" (November 6 - December 30, 2007) in American University Museum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University_Museum
* "Botero Abu Ghraib" Exposition (2008) Centro de las Artes I Monterrey, Mexico
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (May 2008) Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (June 28 - September 21, 2008) New Orleans Museum of Art
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (May 30 - August 16, 2009) Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (October 19 - January 11, 2009) Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (September 12, 2009 - December 6, 2009) Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA
* "Fernando Botero: Works On Paper, Paintings, and Sculptures" (February 11 - March 28, 2010) David Benrimon Fine Art, New York, NY
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (May 1, - July 25, 2010) Nevada Museum of Art, Reno NV
* "Botero" (4 May - 18 July 2010) Pera Museum, Istanbul [2]
* "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" (August 21 - November 14, 2010) Glenbow Museum, Calgary
References
1. ^ http://www.sna40.com/general/datoshistoricos.htm
2. ^ http://www.boterosa.org/biography/boteros_early_life.html
3. ^ http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?searchtype=BIO&artist=9000119
4. ^ http://www.artfact.com/artist/botero-fernando-kog6td69zv
5. ^ http://karaart.com/botero/fernando_botero.html
6. ^ Articulo Impreso Archivado El poder en Colombia
7. ^ http://www.artfact.com/artist/botero-fernando-kog6td69zv
8. ^ http://www.londonnet.co.uk/art/news/fernando-botero-at-thomas-gibson-fine-art
9. ^ http://www.londonnet.co.uk/art/news/fernando-botero-at-thomas-gibson-fine-art
10. ^ http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20050413_2.htm
11. ^ http://www.londonnet.co.uk/art/news/fernando-botero-at-thomas-gibson-fine-art
Abu Ghraib series
* A Permanent Accusation A short movie on the Abu Ghraib series by Fernando Botero.
* Abu Ghraib: November 6 - December 30, 2007 It has been announced by the Director and Curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C. that Botero's paintings will be exhibited there at the end of this year.
* Crucified Smurfs Mark Scroggins discusses Botero's series of canvases & drawings based on the reports of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib
* Abu Ghraib: January 29 - March 25, 2007 The first US institutional exhibition at UC Berkeley, with a webcast of a conversation between Fernando Botero and Robert Hass on the day of the opening.
* Abu Ghraib: October 18 - November 21, 2006 The first US gallery exhibition at the Marlborough in New York.
* The Body in Pain this essay by Arthur Danto at The Nation about Botero's Abu Ghraib series, discusses what Danto refers to as "disturbatory art"
* Botero Sees the World's True Heavies at Abu Ghraib by Erica Jong at The Washington Post about Botero's Abu Ghraib series"
* Botero's Abu Ghraib Series and the American Consciousness by Maymanah Farhat at Monthly Review discusses Botero's Abu Ghraib series in the larger context of American art and politics
* Medellín, Colombia Travel Guide
Video
* Documentary 52': Fernando Botero, the rebel
From Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
