With his distinctive style that challenges dimensions and his unique look about the world around him, Botero emerged as one of the most influential and iconic artists of our time. His ability to captivate audiences from all corners of the planet is a testimony to the powerful connection that his work establishes with humanity, leaving an indelible mark on the history of art; Botero managed to transcend geographical and cultural boundaries, and helped to enrich and diversify artistic expression evermore.
We highlight some of his exhibitions around the world:
“Fernando Botero, beyond forms”. Mons Museum of Fine Arts Mons in Belgium (2021).
In the context of the Walloon Federation-Brussels Biennial of Art and Culture, the Museum of Fine Arts Mons exhibited a large retrospective of the Colombian artist from its beginnings in the 1940s to the year 2022, the same year in which the exhibition was held.
For this exhibition, 120 of his works were gathered from private collections and museums around the world. The collection includes items from the Fundación Llorente in Bogota, the Munich Art Gallery, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The exhibition was held between October 2021 and January 2022
Fernando Botero in Paris (1992).
In autumn of 1992, Fernando Botero took over the French capital with his magnificent monumental sculptures. No living artist, not even a Frenchman, had ever been allowed to exhibit on the Champs-Elysées and simultaneously at the Grand Palais.
31 monumental bronze nudes were displayed on the Champs Elysées, the most famous promenade in the world. 120 of his oil paintings from the “La corrida” series were presented simultaneously at the Grand Palais. In addition, the Didier Imbert Gallery exhibited an exhibition of around 50 works on paper and several small sculptures.
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The former mayor of Paris told Botero that more than 5 million people came to appreciate his works
Fernando Botero, sensuality and melancholy at Museo Goya (2022)
The Goya Museum, in Spain, gathered 40 pieces between paintings, sculptures, drawings and watercolors to trace a journey through the entire career of the Colombian artist, from 1963 to 2022.
Most of the works came from the United States and had never been exhibited in Spain; another large number were some of the recent works that the Botero had painted that same year (2022) at the age of 90.
Through the artworks in the exhibition, the painter’s themes are explored, including nude still life, bullfighting, and carnival, and all the techniques the Master developed.
Downtown Hong Kong (2016).
Fernando Botero established himself as the first artist to exhibit on the waterfront in Central Hong Kong.
Nine monumental bronze sculptures, each one over three meters, were presented in southeastern China for two months. The artworks, executed between 1982 and 2003, make up the so-called “Botero Park”, whose opening marked the beginning of the Cultural Summer Festival in the capital city of Asian art.
Botero was also the first living artist to exhibit at the National Museum in Beijing.
Botero at Park Avenue, Manhattan (1993).
Fourteen bronze sculptures by Fernando Botero were located along Park Avenue from 54th to 61st streets, and two additional sculptures are located at Doris C. Freedman Plaza for two months.
The executive director of the Public Art Fund of New York states: “It has been almost ten years since New York City honored a sculptor with a public exhibition of this scale. Botero in New York will be a historic event destined to be remembered forever”.
Botero, dialogue avec Picasso (2017).
From 24 November 2017 to 11 March 2018 at the Caumont Hotel in Aix-en-Provence, the exhibition Botero, dialogue with Picasso, presented a rich collection of paintings by the Colombian master exploring his artistic affinity with Pablo Picasso.
Around sixty works by Botero (oil paintings, works on paper, sculptures) dialogue with important paintings by Picasso, from the collections of the Picasso-Paris National Museum and the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.
Picasso was the artist that Fernando Botero most admired and influenced him in many ways.
