Ana Mercedes Hoyos Mejía (english version)

Ana Mercedes Hoyos Mejía

Datos generales

Nombre	Ana Mercedes Hoyos Mejía
Fecha de nacimiento	29 de septiembre de 1942
Nacionalidad	Colombiana }}
Ocupación	Plastic artist
Primaria	Colegio Marymount
Bachillerato	Colegio Marymount
Estudios universitarios	Plastic Arts at Universidad de los Andes and Universidad Nacional. She did not graduate from either and devoted herself to painting.
Formación profesional	Plastic Arts
País de nacimiento	Colombia, }}
Ciudad de nacimiento	Bogotá.
Fecha de fallecimiento	05 de septiembre de 2014
País de fallecimiento	Colombia
Ciudad de fallecimiento	Bogotá
Familia	Manuel José Hoyos Toro (father), Ester Mejía Gutiérrez (mother), Ana Moserri (daughter)
Cónyuge	Jacques Mosseri

Ana Mercedes Hoyos Mejía, Colombian plastic artist. Her work was characterized by the predominance of domestic objects such as doors and windows, still-life themes, and the palenqueras of Cartagena. With a continuous transition from abstract to figurative, the artist from Bogotá excelled in numerous individual and collective exhibitions in the country and abroad.

Biography

Ana Mercedes Hoyos was born in Bogotá on 29 September 1942 in the household of Manuel José Hoyos (an engineer dedicated to architecture) and Esther Mejía. She studied at the prestigious Marymount School, and as a teenager she took private painting lessons with Luciano Jaramillo. Meanwhile, her family offered her a stimulating environment with trips to Europe, the United States, and Mexico, plus visits to museums and art books always available for consultation. In 1961, she entered the degree in plastic arts at Universidad de Los Andes, where she studied with professors Juan Antonio Roda, Luciano Jaramillo, Armando Villegas, and Marta Traba. Subsequently, she transferred to the Universidad Nacional to continue her studies, but did not finish the degree in either institution. However, this was no hindrance for her decision to devote definitively to the arts, as she stated herself: “I graduated from the university of life, to which I still belong,” always reaffirming her conviction that training is a permanent process if you want to be a good artist and be in the avant-garde[1]. In 1967, she married architect Jacques Mosseri, and two years later their daughter Ana was born.

Texto de título

Ana Mercedes' first works were characterized by the influence of the pop movement and advertising works, addressing urban and architectural issues. Her first series, titled “Vallas” (Billboards), is a thematic proposal that plays with the contemporary, technological, industrialized, urban, colorful world, in Andean terms, but strongly influenced by North America in the second half of the sixties. In 1969, she made one of her most important series titled “Ventanas” (Windows) and composed of small-format square paintings in which vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines frame a nebulous abstract landscape. This first stage of the 1970s marks Ana Mercedes’ turn toward the landscape, with a special concern for geometry and the theme of the sky. The architectural and geometric representation of this series gave way later to the series “Atmósferas” (Atmospheres) composed of paintings with very clear blue surfaces, tending almost to white. This new series earned her the first prize in the 27th National Artists Exhibit in 1978. In “Atmósferas,” the theme of the sky, which she had been working from “Ventanas,” is consolidated and turns increasingly abstract, until it becomes a chromatic and non-representative matter. Since 1980, Ana Mercedes Hoyos’ work became more figurative with the series “Paisajes,” (Landscapes) in which she addresses geographical issues, and the series “Girasoles” (Sunflowers), in which she concentrates on the study of still lifes. In 1987 she made a new series of figurative works with national motifs entitled “Bodegones de Palenque” (Still lifes of Palenque), which is inspired by the plates of the fruit vendors of Cartagena from a collection of photographs taken by the artist. In her last years, when she already enjoyed wide international prestige, she decided to venture into sculpture by doing large-sized palenquera heads out of bronze and with bows in different colors. The artist held a large number of individual and collective exhibits, among which those at the Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) in Bogotá in 1976 and the Centro Colombo Americano in Bogotá in 1980 stand out. She was awarded the second place in the Biennial of Young Painting of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Museum of Contemporary Art) of Bogotá, the first prize in the exhibit titled “Espacios Ambientales” (Environmental Spaces), the Caracas award in the 20th National Visual Artists Exhibit and the first place in the 27th National Artists Exhibit, among others. In 2000, the Universidad de Antioquia granted her the Honoris Causa title as Master in Plastic Arts. Ana Mercedes Hoyos died in Bogotá in 2014, a few months after a retrospective exhibition of her work at the Galería Nueve Ochenta.