‘BOTERO IN CHINA’ Exhibition at the China Art Museum, Shanghai
21 Jan 2016 – 08 May 2016
Following the unexpected success of Master Fernando Botero’s exhibition in Beijing, Botero in China created an even larger show of his works at the China Art Museum in Shanghai, including nine monumental sculptures which were placed at the entrance of that famous architectonic piece. Hosted once again by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Colombian Embassy in China, and supported by the China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG) and the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), the show opened on January the 21st 2016 and was active until May the 8th 2016.
In addition to the 85 large format oil paintings and 14 large drawings already exhibited in Beijing, Shanghai’s exposition included 30 unique drawings from the artist’s private collection. The additional artworks included rare pieces such as “Portrait of my father” - the only portrayal Botero has made of his father, who died when the artist was just four years old - and four paintings from the Saints series, which was the latest topic tackled by the artist at the time.
Once again, a fully illustrated catalogue of the works was created to commemorate the event, which proved to be as or even more successful than Beijing’s show: more than 800,000 of the Chinese metropolis came to see Botero’s works. Most of the visitors were seen interacting with the sculptures in the Museum grounds, touching, caressing and playing with them, something which the sculptor has always enjoyed because, he has often stated,
"if the public gets to participate in that feeling of sensuality, in the pleasure felt by the sculptor creating, caressing these forms, it means that the artist has accomplished something important. He has managed to involve the viewer in that wonderful feeling that he had creating the sculpture. When people pass close to the sculptures and touch and caress them, it gives me a sense of joy and satisfaction".
Once more, Master Botero flew to China with his wife Sophia and several of his family members to open the exhibition. In this occasion, he invited a select group of his friends in Colombia to join him in an event he felt was extremely important in his career. In order to share the aesthetic principles of his work with the Chinese public, Master Botero’s son, Juan Carlos, gave a lecture on his father’s work and launched his book translated to Chinese, “The Art of Fernando Botero”.
After another week spent in China, with promenades in Shanghai’s legendary Bund and visits to the French Former Concession, Botero returned to Europe with a feeling of deep satisfaction at having fulfilled his dream to exhibit his art in the world’s biggest nation.