Fernando Botero

If Monday is seeming all too much like a brutal reality, then escape it by turning your gaze to the exaggerated, disproportioned, but utterly enticing works of Colombia’s most celebrated artist; Fernando Botero.

Born in 1932 in Medellin, Colombia, Botero’s sculptures and paintings nearly always include “fat figures” as he calls them; it is these strange body proportions and the vibrant colors in which he paints that helps to categorize his work as abstract and thoroughly modern. Famous sculptures and paintings scattered around the world, (including in Park Avenue and the galleries of palace, as well as his native Colombia) reveal a distinctive sense of humour and creativity. There is also an intense love of freedom of speech and expression to be found in Botero’s works, as he is not one to shy away from using art as a medium to criticise and to affect change.

Okay, so we’re not the most astute of art critics, but Botero’s colorful paintings and brazen sculptures are entirely distinctive and utterly eye-catching. Medellin’s ‘Botero Plaza’ (Plaza Botero or Botero Square) (Yep, he has a plaza named after him) features Botero sculptures that attract art-appreciators from all walks of life, whilst his painted works are highly regarded in artistic circles (and often fetch millions at auction).

Botero is a serial chronicler of Colombia’s history and perhaps more importantly, of Colombia’s undying spirit and passion. Take a few minutes to admire his works; we guarantee you that they’re more interesting than that spreadsheet you have open…