Beware of painting so easily
recognized, of those surprising but
rapidly familiar figures, of the
unlikely and peaceful universe that
naive enthusiasts think can be
taken in at a glance.Things are not
as simple as they look. Indeed,
nothing is simple in Botero's work,
least of all his play on appearances.
This is painting that tends to
disconcert, offering up as it does
colors, and obvious or very simple
forms, that are not what we
expected. Often, our gaze turns
away from the obvious, when the
obvious is there to throw it into
confiusion.
Take a better look!
This is painting that not only comes
from afar but leads afar, beyond the
mirror; an art born of patience and
passion, of a long journey through
time and space, across an
imaginary world peopled with
glorious ghosts of the past, and
enriched by myriad encounters.
Jean-Marie Tasset,
Paris
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An indispensable figure on many
international art and social scenes
in at least three continents, Botero's
"persona" might be compared to
that of one of the 17th Century
artists he so much admires, Peter
Paul Rubens. Rubens represents
the epitome of the standard notions
of the "Baroque". His own
fleshy, eroticized figures, exist in a
world exuberance and plenitude in
both the realms of the sacred and
the profane. Like Rubens, Botero is
an individual whose intense
engagement with the world around
him enriches his perceptions,
heightens his discernment of both
the material and spiritual nature of
specific things, places and people.
Edward J.
Sullivan,
New York |
