Beatriz González prints and drawings at Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago presents Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color, on view November 15, 2026, through March 1, 2027. Including more than 80 works, the exhibition will be the first prints and drawings retrospective of Colombian artist Beatriz González, whose practice spanned more than six decades until her passing earlier this year.
González worked across a variety of media, but turned to drawing as the most immediate way to reflect on her experiences and to respond to events unfolding around her. Through drawings, prints, sketches, sketchbooks, objects, and archival materials, the exhibition explores her use of appropriation and repetition as formal and conceptual strategies to critically reflect on the circulation of mass-media images, notions of taste, and Colombia’s recent history.
“This exhibition showcases how drawing was at the center of Beatriz’s practice, and her continuous technical and conceptual experimentation with the medium reveals the breadth and inventiveness of her thinking,” said Felipe Villada Ruiz, senior research associate, Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago.
González’s work created a historical archive, reinterpreting images clipped from newspapers and magazines, as well as decorative prints and postcards, depicting popular culture figures, canonical works of art, and religious or decorative imagery. By the mid-1980s, the tone of her work shifted toward questioning presidents and military leaders, while also registering the often anonymous victims of political violence and climate disasters, as well as some of Colombia’s most tragic events. Her work challenges the fleeting cycle of images, opening a space for memory and collective grief.
The exhibition’s title is inspired by the Spanish expression “¡ahora en serie y a todo color!” (“now in series and full color!”)—originally used to promote the transition of a comic strip into an animated series with the advent of color television. The idiom evokes both the vibrancy of González’s palette and the continued urgency of her themes.
“We are thrilled to be presenting this exhibition this year and elevating six decades of González’s incredible career,” said Mark Pascale, curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago. “We had the privilege of working with her on the exhibition before her passing, so presenting this exhibition is an especially tremendous honor.”
González was an artist, historian, curator, and mentor, whose importance transcends national boundaries and continues to resonate on a global scale.
Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color is curated by Mark Pascale, Janet and Craig Duchossois Curator, Prints and Drawings, and Felipe Villada Ruiz, senior research associate, Prints and Drawings.
