Fernando Botero

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Fernando Botero 

Fernando,

painter of

opulence,

truculence,

poverty—

spokes-artist of

America, South

of us.

Religion,

politics,

earthquakes,

terror.

No hidden

meaning,

you say.

But to me,

layer-upon-

layers of

questions

without

answers

swim around

in my head,

collide with

my comfort,

urge me to

reconsider

the definition

of sin.

In June, 2010, the Nevada Museum of Art‘s feature exhibition was the art of South American artist Fernando Botero. Botero is a contemporary artist. Although he no longer resides in the country of his birth, his art deals almost exclusively with themes that resonate with Colombia. He studied abroad and was heavily influenced by a number of the great masters whose work he often emulated. To the observer, themes of disaster, terror, inequality, corruption and oppression seem apparent, although he denies that the purpose of his work political activism. This was a fun exhibit to show to children who were fascinated with his exaggerated style that borders on Rococo. Botero was a friend of  Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez (100 Years of Solitude) and their works are most reflective of one another’s.

Originally posted in 2010–Reposted for my prompt over at dVerse Poet’s Pub–stop by, join us and have some fun.