A major retrospective of Colombian artist Beatriz González, "Beatriz González: A Retrospective," is touring internationally, with recent stops at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia in Bogotá. The exhibition, the largest of her 60-year career, showcases over 150 works, including her iconic paintings that appropriate and rework images from art history and mass media to critique political violence, social inequality, and cultural memory in Colombia.
González’s work matters because it provides a crucial, decades-long visual archive of Colombia’s tumultuous history, from La Violencia to the ongoing drug war, through the accessible vernacular of popular prints and domestic objects. Her enduring relevance underscores how art can confront collective trauma and state-sponsored amnesia, offering a powerful model for artists globally who use appropriation to challenge official narratives and highlight ongoing social injustices.