The Gordo Art of Medellin

                                           

Botero Plaza, surrounded by the Museum of Antioquia and the Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture, is an outside park that displays 23 sculptures by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, who donated these and several other artworks for the museum's renovation in 2004.[1][2] The plaza is located in an area of Medellín, Colombia known as the "Old Quarter".

Medellin may be better known as the former haunt of Pablo Escobar, but its other internationally famous, and still living, resident is renowned sculptor and artist, Fernando Botero. Known for his oversized, ‘gordo’, sculptures and paintings of people, animals, abstracts and historical events Botero’s work is monumental.

Downtown Medellin can’t really be described as a delight. It has an abundance of bad architecture, streets packed with diesel-fume-pumping traffic, a lot of homeless people and on the walk there from our hotel we found ourselves on a street populated by trans-sexual sex workers and drunks. However, it does have the Plazoleta de las Esculturas which hosts twenty three of Botero’s amazing sculptures.

Botero’s work is larger than life in more ways than one, and makes a profound impression as you wander amongst them. Its refreshing to see people posing, touching and climbing on the artworks – not something you normally see in a gallery. All the works are sculpted from bronze and have pretty literal names ‘Dog’, ‘Cat’, ‘Woman with fruit’ and so on, and although his work often has a political/social meaning the ones we saw seemed funny and ironic.