Born in Medellin, Colombia, Fernando Botero is among Latin America’s most prominent artists. His figurative signature style depicts bodies and objects with their features proportionally exaggerated to an almost comedic point. Despite the humor in many of his depictions, he’s also used his art to expose controversial and uncomfortable political realities – in 2004, he exhibited several dozen drawings and paintings that explored the violence of Colombia’s drug cartels. A year later, he made major waves with his Abu Ghraib series, a collection of 85 paintings and 100 drawings denouncing the abusive treatment of prisoners in the Iraqi prison during the US military intervention in the country. Botero’s sculptures and paintings have achieved international recognition, earning a place in emblematic locations such as Park Avenue in New York and the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
