Creating a world of well-rounded folks

Fernando Botero, a Colombian artist, is staging his solo show in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Botero has since used the feel of volume to bring alive fruits, flowers, animals and humans on canvas. And his rich, vibrant palette has added a strong touch of Latin American art to his works. By doing so, he has invited audiences to glimpse the realities of Latin America, a region he has great affection for.

Although some of the figures in his paintings have been referred to as "Botero's fat family", the artist says he paints that way because he believes "volume is very important" in his art.

In his paintings, Botero creates a contrast between the large and the small in a disproportional way. For example, the women are often depicted with big, round faces, and big bodies with chubby limbs, earing tiny accessories.

"These small elements allow him to magnify the essence of volume, and to extol volume and form," Juan Carlos Botero, the artist's son, tells China Daily.

Through representations of Latino society, Fernando Botero has injected his feelings for different classes. While dictators, politicians, police and businessmen look cruel and absurd because of their wrongdoings, the homeless, dancers, bullfighters, circus performers and common people look confused, naive yet lovingly funny.