Fernando Botero: Larger Than Life

There are so many museums, galleries, and art exhibits in Southern California, you really have to pick and choose what you attend. One exhibit I did not want to miss was the Fernando Botero exhibit at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. So I called a few friends, and we made a day of it, going up to view the exhibit, lunch (of course) at the museum restaurant, and then a little shopping at South Coast Plaza.

I first discovered Fernando Botero in the early 1990's. We were in Avignon at the Palace of the Popes, and they were having an exhibit of his sculpture. You can't miss his work. Everything is larger than life. As he describes it, he volumnizes his people. We saw bronze sculptures of men, women and horses that were absolutely enormous. You wonder how they were all transported there and at what cost. He has had more exhibits worldwide than any living artist.

The exhibit at the Bowers was mostly paintings, in fact it was a retrospective of his paintings. His early work, in the late 1950's shows his style developing and also the influence of the great masters that he studied in Madrid. He is Colombian by birth, came from a very small town, but his artistic ability was recognized early and he was sent to Spain to study the great masters. You can see the influence of Van Gogh, Goya, and early religious art in his paintings. We had a wonderful docent who gave us volumes of information on both the artist and work. We all just loved the exhibit.

Out of convenience we decided to eat at Tangata Restaurant, adjacent to the museum. The restaurant is managed by Joachim Splichal restaurant group. Joachim opened Patina Restaurant in Hollowood over 25 years ago, and has since built a restaurant empire. His most successful restaurants are his chain of bistros, called Pinot. Unfortunately I cannot recommend anything about Tangata. The food and service were both below par, although the restaurant itself is very attractive. It is rather pricey, and with that you get attitude. So, we had our $22 lunch and were on our way. One group of women went home after lunch, but me and Debbie went to South Coast Plaza to shop.

Now I'm not much of a shopper, but my friend Debbie is a shopper extraordinaire, and she had a few things she needed, so I tagged along. Yes, Debbie, you're a great shopper. Debbie needed three things, and found them all at good prices within an hour. She was like a woman on a mission. She knew just where to go and sometimes after a 30 second glance around the store she knew they didn't have what she needed, and it was off to the next store. I escaped South Coast Plaza without buying a thing. That is quite an accomplishment. All in all, the six of us had a great day, and we missed Regina, with her car stuck in her garage with no way out.