WHAT?  Beatriz Gonzalez

WHERE?  Barbican Art Gallery, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

WHEN?  Now until 10th May

WHY GO?  To feel the force of art. It’s especially poignant that Colombian artist and historian Beatriz Gonzalez died just recently (9 January) before she was able to see six decades of her powerful work celebrated in her first ever UK solo show, and it is truly ground-breaking.
Known as La Maestra (the teacher) in Colombia, Gonzalez communicated her vision of truth through art to the masses, often touching on sensitive issues that were barely acknowledged in her native country.
Issues like armed conflict, suicide and displacement followed early cheerier subject matter, satirical imagery inspired by European artwork she gleaned from magazines and newspapers. Gonzalez translated news into bold, often radical imagery. “Art says things that history cannot” was her overriding philosophy.
She leaves a legacy of satirical, cultural and political artworks; there are some 150 on show in this exciting exhibition which includes her contribution to interior design through wallpapers, curtains and furniture, often touchingly kitsch but always symbolising her Colombian lifestyle.

IN THE KNOW  The 2011 documentary, Beatriz Gonzalez, Why Are You Crying?, provides context for the exhibition as it chronicles Colombia’s history and follows Gonzalez as she worked on Auras Anonimas, a monumental installation of 9,000 funerary plaques in Bogota’s abandoned Central Cemetery. Check Barbican cinema for dates.