"Art says things that history cannot. González questioned and challenged the world around her throughout her career, as illustrated by her inquiry about removing the Barbican's concrete ceiling columns during exhibition planning. Her work encompasses and comments on the personal and the political, touching on the effects of colonisation on Colombia, the armed conflict, drug wars and violence."
"Known in Colombia as 'la maestra' (the teacher), González was a groundbreaking artist, educator, art historian, curator and archivist, born in Bucaramanga in 1932, who witnessed decades of Colombian violence and murders, both domestic and political. She explored how images circulate in society and what they provoke, with her predominant concern being to investigate what art can reveal about power, grief and memory."
"Her work is unmistakably made by a woman, which is particularly evident through her empathy for the pain of the women of Colombia, endlessly burying dead loved ones throughout the decades of violence. She never wanted to be seen as 'a lady who paints', and her oeuvre proves her to be far more than that, encompassing multiple artistic mediums and profound social commentary."
Beatriz González, who died in January 2026, was a renowned Colombian artist, educator, art historian, curator, and archivist born in 1932. Her first UK retrospective at the Barbican gallery showcases her comprehensive body of work from the 1960s to 2022, when she created her final installation at age 90. González investigated how images circulate in society and their effects, focusing on power, grief, and memory. Her work addresses Colombian violence, colonization, armed conflict, drug wars, and personal trauma. Combining painting, sculpture, assemblages, and installations, her oeuvre is visually beautiful, politically angry, emotionally poignant, and often humorous. Known as 'la maestra' in Colombia, she was recognized for her distinctive artistic voice and empathy for Colombian women's suffering throughout decades of violence.
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