Botero

Fernando Botero Brings Latin American Flavor

Picnic

/ Courtesy of National Museum of Contemporary Art Deoksu Palace

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

Looking at Colombian artist Fernando Botero's paintings and sculptures, it's easy to conclude that his subjects tend to be overweight.

However, Botero, who was in Seoul for the opening of his exhibition at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Deoksu Palace, insists he does not ``paint fat people."

His style of creating plump figures arises from the importance he gives to volume, inspired by the style of Italian masters like Botticelli and Rubens.

``My stylistic goal lies in expanding scale. By doing so, I can increase the space to allow for use of more color and I can better convey the sensuality, richness and voluptuousness of form that I wish to express," he said.

But more important than the rotund forms is his use of bright colors and themes depicting the richness and diversity of Latin American life.

``My paintings show the diversity of life. All of these themes are universal, and I hope Koreans can relate to this," Botero said.

Born 1932 in Medellin, Botero gained fame for his distinctive and vivid artworks portraying Latin American life, and is widely considered one of the living masters of modern art.

On display inside the museum are 89 paintings from Botero's personal collection. Three large bronze sculptures, ``Cat," ``Seated Woman," and ``Reclining Woman" can be found around the Deoksu Palace grounds.

Divided into seven sections, the exhibition shows the diversity and depth of Botero's works throughout the decades, from still lifes to his latest ``Circus" series.

Botero has been doing still lifes since the 1950s. The exhibition includes paintings of fruit, flowers, and musical instruments. One of the most striking is the ``Flowers (Triptych),'' a series of three large paintings in yellow, blue, and red. Botero's works usually have these three dominant colors, which are also the colors of the Colombian flag.

Famous paintings by masters like Rubens, Velasquez, Cezanne, and Picasso are given a Botero-esque twist. Botero reinterpreted famous pieces like Goya's ``Duchess of Osuna,'' Rubens' ``Peter Rubens and Isabella Brandt,'' and Velasquez' ``Infanta Margarita Teresa of Spain in White Dress.''

His works depicting Latin American people, culture and everyday life are dripping with affection and warmth. Many of the paintings are based on Botero's memories of growing up in Colombia, hence the scenes of families at home, dancing, bull fighting, and streets and landscapes with Spanish colonial era structures.

In Latin America, including Colombia, Catholicism is the dominant religion. Religious figures are present in Botero's paintings, such as ``Sleeping Cardinal,'' and ``The Seminary.''

Botero's ``Circus'' series is fairly new ― he started painting them in early 2000. He painted gaudy circus performers and animals with a satirical edge. ``Seated Clown'' depicts a clown with no makeup on, sitting pensively while waiting to perform.

``Having set out in search of forms that exist solidly in a changing world, Botero has the ultimate goal of moving beyond the dimension of giving simple pleasure to the viewer and into changing that viewer's understanding,'' said Liu Jienne, curator of the National Museum of Contemporary Art.

Admission is 10,000 won for adults to 4,000 won for children. The museum is closed on Mondays. To get there, get off at City Hall station, line 1 or 2, exit 1 or 2. Call (02) 368-1414 or visit http://botero.moca.go.kr.

To complement the Botero exhibition, a series of lectures on Latin American art, literature and music will be held at 6:30 p.m., July 16, 23 and 30 and Aug. 6, 13 and 20 at Heungkuk Life Insurance building, Gwanghwamun. Latin American films such as ``Motorcycle Diaries," ``Buena Vista Social Club," ``City of God," and ``Pan's Labyrinth" will be screened at Cine Cube, Aug. 6-12. Visit www.cineart.co.kr.

cathy@koreatimes.co.kr