Press release —
Beatriz González | Press preview Thursday 11 June 12:00-14:00
Please sign up for the press preview by Tuesday 9 June:
Stein-Inge Århus | s.aarhus@afmuseet.no | +47 45 24 00 92
Beatriz González
12 June – 11 October 2026
Art says things that history cannot
– Beatriz González
Astrup Fearnley Museet presents a retrospective of Beatriz González (1932–2026). Known as la maestra of Colombian art, González was one of the most important and influential Latin American artists of the 20th century. Bringing together over 150 artworks, this major exhibition, planned in close collaboration with the artist, explores González’s practice from the 1960s until her passing in January 2026.
With a distinctive graphic style and bold palette, González’s work explores the power and impact of the images we encounter every day, probing their potential to communicate and shape our perceptions of the world. Using found images amassed throughout her life in Colombia — ranging from tattered reproductions of revered paintings in Western art history to newspaper clippings reporting on violent murder, conflict and loss —González transformed her sources through her practice. She revealed how images reflect power and politics on personal and social scales by playfully addressing the dominance of Western iconography, questioning socially constructed ideas of taste, confronting complex histories of violence, and paying homage to displaced communities.
"In a very distinctive way, Beatriz González’s work gives form to the lingering presence of political history. At once vividly colored and visually compelling, her works carry a quiet beauty that stands in tension with their darker undertones of violence, loss and grief. By confronting how collective trauma is lived, remembered, and often normalized, her work brings a deeply human perspective to broader structures of power and political reality, which feel particularly urgent today.” - Solveig Øvstebø
Challenging conventional hierarchies of value associated with specific mediums or cultures, González experimented with myriad media, including painting, printmaking, furniture (beds, tables, and televisions), monumental painted backdrops, and large-scale installations presented in public spaces. Rooted in and responding to a specific Colombian context, her work addresses pressing concerns, ranging from political violence to the climate crisis and the lives of Indigenous communities. She revealed how images reflect power and politics on personal and social scales by playfully addressing the dominance of Western iconography, questioning socially constructed ideas of taste, confronting complex histories of violence, and paying homage to displaced communities.
This exhibition is co-produced by Pinacoteca de São Paulo (August 30, 2025–February 1, 2026), Barbican, London (February 25–May 10, 2026), and Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo (June 12–October 11, 2026). Curated by Pollyana Quintella and Natalia Gutiérrez at Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Lotte Johnson at the Barbican Centre, and at Astrup Fearnley Museet by Solveig Øvstebø.
