Five Questions for Gary Nader
Botero – Miami – Arts Education and more!
Miami is in a cultural renaissance. Can you please explain how the evolution of the different arts districts contributes to the renaissance and why you chose Wynwood to have a gallery?
Definitively it is. Most of the art districts in Miami expose and promote Cuban and some other young Latin American artists. I chose Wynwood because of many reasons but the main one is that it was the only place that I could find a 55,000 square foot space to build the gallery that allows me to hang and store our diverse collection of more than 2000 important pieces . And, as you can see, others have followed.
In recent times, the obese body image has been used in art to reflect the growing obesity of modern western culture. At no other time in history has the ideal body image so differed from the social norm. Can you please explain the role that Botero has in this current movement?
A Maestro is defined by his ability to create great art works, but mostly by his or hers influence in future generations of artist. He is both and more.
Which Botero pieces resonate with you and why?
I don’t have favorites. I like them all and that’s why I have the largest and most important collection of his works in the world. There are some of his works with multiple figures that I like and there are some of his pieces with a single figure that are also masterpieces. I find his “still life” scenes to be extraordinary also. His drawings are simply exquisite and his body of sculpture is overwhelming.
Since Miami is the gateway to Latin America, do you foresee the area becoming the centralized area in the world for Latin American art?
Twenty three years ago I registered the phrase “Miami Latin American Art Capital of the World.” It definitively has happened. Like no other city, we are the gateway of Latin America in every sense.
What must Miami do as a whole to continue its cultural growth and how does arts education for children contribute to the growth?
There is a lot to be done. We have to be much more involved in the arts. We have to participate and support the arts. We have to build more museums and arts programs. We have to indulge our citizens to be more interactive by bringing them great art shows for their cultural pleasure. When it comes to children the formula is very simple. I always say: expose them to the arts; plastic art, music, architecture, dance, etc and you will enhance their lives. They will be more sensitive people, appreciative of their surroundings and positive active participants. It’s my own experience. The art is the soul of a community.
Fernando Botero: The Grand Show at Gary Nader Gallery in Wynwood runs until end of this month as a rare exhibition and chronological assortment of more than 100 paintings, sculpture and drawings from the acclaimed Colombian Master, dating from the 1950s to the present day. Nader owns the largest gallery in the world and houses $200 million of the most impressive collections by U.S, Latin and European masters. Accompanying the Botero Retrospective is a hard cover edition of 224 pages with close to 200 full color page illustrations, published by Nader and priced $150.
