In the text published in the foldout poster for the show El dibujo colombiano década del sesenta (1981), Miguel González argues that, in the sixties, drawing—whether produced by young artists or by well established figures from the fifties—was central to the Colombian art scene. To begin, González mentions the violent political events that riddled Colombia in the sixties, events that, on occasion, influenced the themes addressed in artworks. González also points out important cultural events like the founding of museums and the opening of galleries, and the organization of festivals and exhibitions of prints and drawing, which placed the city of Cali at the forefront of those languages. The author recounts the drawing exhibitions held in the most important cities in Colombia. He places particular emphasis on the critical work of Marta Traba, the national prizes in drawing awarded to Colombian artist Pedro Alcántara, and the expansion of the artistic lexicon. Due to the growing range of artistic formulations that emerged in the sixties, new terms were adopted as well, terms like “environmental spaces,” “Pop art,” and “Neo-Figuration.” In González’s view, a number of issues converged in the generation of artists active in the sixties, among them popular iconography, activism and politicalization, existentialism, “the purity of the line,” introspection, the mass media, and art history.

This curatorial text by Miguel González (b. 1950) is one of the first accounts of the sixties written by a Colombian art critic. Insofar as it provides an overview of players and events critical to the rise of drawing in Colombia, this document constitutes an important source on that time. González’s text was used to present the exhibition El dibujo colombiano década del sesenta held at the Cámara de Comercio de Cali from October 25 to November 14, 1979. The show was sponsored by the Instituto Colombiano de Cultura and the Universidad del Valle in Cali. A second edition of the show was held at the Museo de Arte Moderno of Medellín (March 17-April 17, 1981).  

El dibujo colombiano década del sesenta included works by Pedro Alcántara (b. 1942), Álvaro Barrios (b. 1945), Fernando Botero (b. 1932), Luis Caballero (1943–1995), Santiago Cárdenas (b. 1937), Leonel Góngora (1932–1999), Beatriz González (b. 1938), Enrique Grau (1920-2004), David Manzur (b. 1929), Norman Mejía (b. 1938), Omar Rayo (b. 1928), Juan Antonio Roda (1921-2003), Bernardo Salcedo (1939–2007), Lucy Tejada (b. 1920), and  Hernando Tejada (1924-1998).  

González argues that the importance of drawing in the sixties can be explained by the proliferation of events in Cali focused on that medium and on printmaking, and by the launching of a special drawing prize in the Salón Nacional. In the seventies, other events took center stage, specifically continent-wide biennials of graphic art held in Cali and in Bogotá, exhibitions of drawings and prints such as the Dibujantes y grabadores colombianos (1975) at the Museo de Arte de la Universidad Nacional of Colombia (see “Dibujantes y grabadores colombianos”, doc. no. 1089856).  

At the time of the exhibition El dibujo colombiano década del sesenta, González was an art critic, professor at the Instituto Departamental de Bellas Artes of Cali, and adviser on exhibitions at the Cultural Extension of the Universidad del Valle also in Cali. From 1985 to 2009, he was the curator of the Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia. In 2005, González published the book Apuntes para una historia del arte en el Valle del Cauca durante el siglo XX; in 2008, a recompilation of his critical production from 1972 to 2007 was published under the title Cali: visiones y miradas.