Ana Mercedes Hoyos

Ana Mercedes Hoyos (1942 – 2014) was one of Colombia’s most acclaimed modern artists. Over the course of her multi-decade career, her focus remained rooted in scenes of Colombian life and the country’s diverse cultural heritage.

Born in Bogota in 1942, Hoyos was exposed to art history and museums in Colombia and abroad during her childhood and education. She studied at the Universidad de los Andes and the Universidad Nacional de Bogota, developing both figurative and abstract styles of painting, as well as expertise in sculpture and other mixed media. In a 1996 article in the Los Angeles Times, Hoyos cited artists as disparate as Andy Warhol, Edward Hopper, and Van Gogh as inspirations.

During her lifetime, Hoyos’ work was exhibited in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern art in Bogota, Colombia; the Panama Institute of Art in Panama City, Panama; Associated American Artist Gallery in New York, NY; and at Louis Stern Fine Arts in West Hollywood, CA. She was included in group exhibitions at the Bogota Museum of Modern Art; the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, Japan; the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, among others. She is represented in the permanent collections of the National Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Fuji Art Museum in Tokyo, and the Bogota Museum of Modern Art, among other public collections around the world.

Hoyos was honored with a Google Doodle on December 17, 2022, which was the anniversary of the artist winning the prestigious first place prize in a major 1968 exhibition at the Bogota Museum of Modern Art. In 2024, Hoyos will be the subject of major retrospective exhibitions at Huxley-Parlour in London, UK and in Colombia.