ON 29.APRIL, THE MARLBOROUGH GALLERY, NEW YORK, WILL PRESENT AN EXHIBITION OF MONUMENTAL SCULPTURES BY THE WORLD RENOWNED COLOMBIAN ARTIST, FERNANDO BOTERO. THE EXHIBITION WILL FEATURE WORK WITH CLASSICAL SUBJECTS SUCH AS LEDA AND THE SWAN, (67 x 127 x 55 in.), AN RAPE OF EUROPA, (114 x 120 x 62 in.). BOTERO'S LARGE SCALE SCULPTURES HAVE BEEN EXHIBITED TO CRITICAL AND POPULAR ACCLAIM IN PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS AROUND THE GLOBE, INCLUDING ON THE CHAMPS ELYSEES IN PARIS, PARK AVENUE IN NEW YORK CITY, CHICAGO, VENICE AND MOST RECENTLY IN BERLIN, ATHENS AND SEOUL. BOTERO'S MONUMENTAL SCULPTURES ARE FORMAL MASTERPIECES OF COMPOSED VOLUME AND MASS. HE HAS SAID OF HIS SCULPTURES: 'I NEVER GIVE PARTICULAR TRAITS TO MY FIGURES. I DON'T WANT THEM TO HAVE PERSONALITY, BUT RATHER THAT THEY REPRESENT A TYPE THAT I CREATE.MY SCULPTURES DO NOT CARRY ANY MESSAGE, SOCIAL OR OTHERWISE...WHAT MATTERS FOR ME IS THE FORM, THE VOLUPTUOUS SURFACES WHICH EMPHASIZE THE SENSUALITY OF MY WORK.' IN ADDITION TO LEDA AND THE SWAN AND RAPE OF EUROPA, MARLBOROUGH'S EXHIBITION WILL INCLUDE WOMAN ON A HORSE, (114 1/8 x 87 3/8 x 55 1/8 in.), AND RECLINING WOMAN, (65 3/8 x 137 3/4 x 56 3/4 in.). WITH THESE WORKS, BOTERO COTEMPORIZES HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS SUCH AS THE EQUESTRIAN SCULPTURE AND THE RECLINED NUDE, BOTH OF WHICH HAVE THEIR ARTISTIC ROOTS IN ANTIQUITY. STANDING OVER NINE FEET TALL, RAPE OF EUROPA IS A UNIQUE INTERPRETATION OF THE MYTHOLOGICAL THEME. THE NUDE MAIDEN RECLINES ON HER SIDE ON THE BACK OF A MASSIVE BULL, BALANCED, WITH ONE HAND SUPPORTING HER HEAD AND ANOTHER OUTSTRETCHED. THE FIGURE IS POISED IN A RELAXED MANNER AS THE STRONG BULL SUPPORTS HER. THE SERENITY OF THE PAIR ARE IN CONTRAST TO THE DYNAMIC, SHIFTING ELEMENTS OF EUROPA'S STORY AS RELATED BY OVID. HERE, BOTERO DEPICTS A LANGUID EUROPA, WITH NO TRACE OF FEAR AS DESCRIBED IN METAMORPHOSES. JUPITER AS THE BULL IS ATTENTIVE AND HIS CURLED TAIL IMPLIES A DEGREE OF DOMESTICITY; EUROPA SEEMS TO HAVE TAMED HIM COMPLETELY.
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