Frases de Fernando Botero Angulo

“El arte efímero es una expresión menor que no se puede comparar con la idea del arte concebido con el deseo de perpetuidad. Lo que mucha gente no entiende es que Picasso es un artista tradicional.”

Sin fuentes

“El arte no tiene ningún poder de mover nada. El arte tiene poder en el tiempo, de recuerdo y de testimonio.”

Entrevista con Yamid Amad http://www.eltiempo.com/entretenimiento/arte/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-8829680.html.

“En el arte abstracto hay cosas muy bellas. Lo que pasa es que yo considero que el arte abstracto es incompleto. Es muy bello porque es muy decorativo, hay unos colores maravillosos, formas muy hermosas; pero la mejor definición que conozco de la pintura la dio Poussin, el gran maestro del siglo XVII. Dijo que la pintura es una expresión que se hace sobre una superficie plana con formas y colores para dar placer. Eso le falta al arte abstracto: hay un placer de ver el color, la forma, pero no produce ese sobrecogimiento de la pintura figurativa.”

Entrevista en Guiacultural http://www.guiacultural.com/guia_regional/regional/colombia/entrevista_al_artista_colombiano.htm

“Some people love my work, some people hate it…You can’t be liked by everybody. There has been opposition in some places. I represent the opposite of what is happening in art today. But I don’t complain. It hasn’t hurt my career. I’m happy to have the success I have had.”

Sin fuentes

Fernando Botero Angulo: Frases en inglés

“My subject matter is Colombia and it has always been Colombia; I lived many years in New York, in Paris, and I have never had the feeling to paint an American or a French subject matter. The thing is that the art - and the artist - must have roots in his own land, in his own life: my life is in Colombia, and my land is Colombia. Now, of course, the language that you use to express the subject matter must be universal: the composition, the colour, the balance, etc. In this sense, subject must be local, but the language must be universal, in order to touch any human being in the world…”

On the reactions to his work in “Botero: ‘You Can’t Be Liked By Everybody’” https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/fernando-botero-says-you-cant-be-liked-by-everybody-2155/ in ARTnews (2013 Jan 30)

“The only duty an artist has is in the quality of the art. There is no moral obligation to denounce. An artist confronted with a tremendous injustice sometimes feels inclined to say something. Denouncing the situation is the artist’s choice.”

On staying with Colombia as his subject matter in “Interview: Fernando Botero” http://www.timeoutshanghai.com/features/Art-Art_Features/34176/Interview-Fernando-Botero.html in TimeOut Shanghai (2016 Feb 25)

“A great artist is born from a profound knowledge of the tradition and problems of painting. However, there are many works in which freshness and audacity surprise, as can be seen in popular art and in certain examples of modern art.”

On whether an artist should paint about injustices in “Interview With Fernando Botero” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/interview-with-fernando-botero_b_6795782 in HuffPost (2017 Dec 6)