Museum opens doors to Latin American exhibit

Friday, Feb. 6, 2004 | 8:28 a.m.

"Fernando Botero Posters: The Evolution of a Master" includes more than 100 pieces spanning 40 years and comes from the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, Calif., where the exhibit ended Jan. 11.

Botero's rounded, sensual images of families, dancers, picnickers, nudes and musicians caught the eye of Enrique Michelsen, who began collecting the artist's work in the late 1970s and provided the chronological posters for this exhibit.

Botero's rotund, satirical depictions of the human form were inspired by his native country and his travels to Spain and Italy (where, in Florence, he was exposed to the voluminous figures in Renaissance art).

"It's a fairly lighthearted look at human nature, a comic vision ... on the virtues and vices of humanity and its social and government structures," James Mann, Las Vegas Art Museum director, said.

In conjunction with Botero's work, the Las Vegas Art Museum will host "Latin American Art NOW," featuring work by Latin American Artists Cesar Menendez and Antonio Bonilla of El Salvador, Vladimir Cora of Mexico, Rafael Trelles of Puerto Rico and Olga Sinclair of Panama.

Mann, a longtime admirer of Latin American art and culture who taught poetry in Brazil, said his recent return to the museum after a two-year hiatus meant he had to scramble to piece together the accompanying exhibit.

Last month Mann drove to Long Beach to pick up the Botero works. The paintings for the accompanying show required assembly.

"Some of the paintings were delivered to us rolled up so they could go through customs faster and be shipped cheaper," Mann said.

The Botero exhibit, which contains no originals, was curated by Alexo Slato, associate director of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach. Mann curated "Latin American Art NOW."

Mann said the paintings featured in "Latin America Art NOW" are a small sampling of what's happening in Latin American art, which hasn't received extensive exposure in the United States.

Mann speculates that the lack of exposure has to do with the political vagaries of Latin America in the 20th century, the struggle of Latin American artists to break from their surroundings and the fact that commerce between North and South America has not been as intense as commerce between North America and Europe.

The collection of art in "Latin American Art NOW" reflects the influence from the French surrealist movement that is still very strong in Latin America, Mann said.

"It never had more than a minor role in the fine arts in the U.S. and Great Britain and Northern Europe," he said. "It found its truest resonance in Latin American culture."