Germán Botero was born in Fresno, Tolima in 1946. He studied
architecture at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He was a founding
member of the Industrial Design program at the Universidad Pontificia
Bolivariana and the art program at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia,
both in Medellín. In 1976, he won the National Sculpture Award at the
XXVII Salón de Artes Visuales for his work Tone. This achievement framed
his interest in creating artwork that explored geometric abstraction. From
then onwards, he expanded his work to new conceptual and material
frontiers, solving complex organic forms. In 1986 he presented his first
installation Four Dozen (48 ceramic spinning tops) inspired by an
investigation of industrial archeology. Many of his later installations allude
to ritual sites and ceremonial geographies. In 1999 he won the Parque de la
Memoria International Competition in Buenos Aires in honor of the
“disappeared”.
Germán Botero's work claims to be heir to the tradition of minimalist and
land art, where architectural and sculptural forms generate a direct
dialogue with the landscape. In 2010, the Museo Bolivariano invited him to
participate in the environmental art project Madreagua in the Ciénaga
Grande de Santa Marta. He is a specialist in public art and has installed
monumental works in Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Changchun (People's
Republic of China), the Mayan region of Chetumal (Mexico), San Juan de
Puerto Rico, Montreal, Resistencia (Argentina) and in Cuba.