“The Baroque World of Fernando Botero” is the first major US retrospective presented in more than 30 years by Columbian artist Fernando Botero (b 1932).
Touring around America since 2008, the exhibition will be at the Bowers Museum September 12⁄ecember 6 in the Janice Frey Smith and Robert Gumbiner Galleries.
Recognized worldwide for his style of voluminous forms and sensuous figures, Botero’s work often takes on subjects related to religion, politics and history with a critical and comical approach. All the works are on loan from the artist’s personal collection and many have never before been seen in public.
The exhibition features 100 paintings, sculptures and drawings, dating from the 1950s to the present, of Botero’s favorite works, as well as pieces he reacquired years after they left his possession.
As a painter, sculptor and draftsman, Botero depicts the comedy of human life in moving expression, mocking observation and sometimes deep, elementary emotion. Working in a broad range of media, Botero has created a world of his own, at once accessible and enigmatic, with a particular blend of violence and beauty.
The artist’s roots are in Medellín, a Colombian town close to the Andes Mountains. There he drew upon his first images of the Spanish colonial baroque style, a movement of extravagant richness, featuring sumptuous decorations that flourished on the walls of every church in South America.
The exhibition follows Botero in his extensive studies of the history of European art. He looked to European masters such as Velázquez in Spain; Ingres, Delacroix, and Courbet in France; and Renaissance artists in Italy. He also admired some contemporary artists like Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti.
Botero turned his attention to Mexico, where the monumental murals by Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros had a profound impact. He absorbed himself in the dramatic self-portraits of Frida Kahlo and her idiosyncratic interpretation of Latin American folklore, and was intrigued by the mysteries of pre-Columbian artifacts.
Another important theme illustrated in the exhibition is the pomposity and misery of contemporary life in Latin America, including the pretentious appearance of presidents and first ladies as observed by Botero’s satirical eye. A section is presented on everyday life in South America: women observed in the intimacy of their boudoir, street scenes, dance halls, and the suggestion of houses of ill repute. Even in Botero’s still-life paintings, he creates a sense of uneasiness that is difficult to define.
The exhibit is accompanied by a fully illustrated exhibition catalog.
The Baroque World of Fernando Botero is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Va. The works have been selected by Dr John Sillevis, curator of the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague.
The Bowers Museum is at 2002 North Main Street. For more information, 714-567-3600 or www.bowers.org .
