Botero

Fernando Botero Angulo

Is a figurative artist and sculptor, born in Medellin, Colombia in 1932. His distinctive ‘Boterismo’ style depicts ‘proportionally exaggerated’ or ‘fat’ people (as he once described them) which he uses in a humourous way or as political criticism depending on the piece.

He was first exhibited in 1948 and from 1949 to 1950 worked as a set designer before moving to Bogota in 1951. Between 1952 and 1954 he moved to Europe and spent time studying in Madrid, Paris and Florence. He first gained national recognition in 1958 when he won the first prize at the Salon de Artistas Colombianos. He now works most of the year in Paris, spending only one month a year in Colombia and has achieved international renown holding exhibitions across the globe.

He is seen as the most recognised living artist from Latin America and his art can be found in very visible places around the world such as the Champs Elysees in Paris and Park Avenue in New York. His ‘Abu Ghraib’ pieces painted between 2004 and 2005 attracted international attention and were first exhibited in Europe and then in the USA in 2007. He refused to sell these pieces instead insisting on donating them to museums. ,

In 2012 he was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award and his art is collected by many international museums and private and corporate collectors.