Botero’s voluptuous classics return to Tokyo for artist’s 90th birthday
Tokyo, Apr 28 (EFE).- Colombian artist Fernando Botero is marking his 90th birthday with a retrospective in Japan’s capital.
The ‘Botero: Magic in Full Bloom’ show brings together some 70 pieces which take viewers on a journey of the artist’s process: from his early days, which depict daily life in Medellín (northern Colombia), to his now iconic, plump and voluminous versions of classics.
Woman Crying (1949), which the artist made at the age of 17, opens the exhibition, which has been divided into six themed spaces under Botero’s direct supervision.
“Botero told us the color he wanted us to put on the walls, such as the pastel red or yellow,” which have been used in the religious and circus sections, Masao Miyazawa, chief curator at Bunkamura Art Museum in Tokyo, told Efe Thursday.
“Anyone who sees Botero’s work in person will be very impressed, because it is wonderfully powerful,” Miyazawa added.
Both Latin America and religion are prominent in Botero’s work.
Despite not being particularly religious, Botero has drawn from mysticism for many of his works.
The artist considers that “for art to be universal, it must first be local” and as such, he continues to capture in his work scenes that his memory evokes from past times and places.
The exhibition closes with classics, including his take on Diego Velazquez’s Las Meninas and his 2020 version of Mona Lisa.
The show launches on April 29 and will run until July 3 at Bunkamura, before moving on to Nagoya and Kyoto. EFE
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