Among the important art critics to emerge in Colombia in the eighties as that discipline expanded were José Hernán Aguilar (b. 1952), Carolina Ponce de León (b. 1957) and Beatriz González (b. 1938). In the texts they wrote, these figures spread information about art, and also provided a forum for education and reflection. In this retrospective document, published in the Sunday magazine of the newspaper El Espectador in 1987, González, an important figure due to her work as an artist, and also her insightful criticism, offers her opinion on each of the topics mentioned. In essence, the text is an exhaustive summary of the art presented to the Colombian public that year. Of particular interest is how the author speaks of the proposals, events, and institutions on the basis of seven organizing topics: “Criticism and culture in La Picota,” “A retrospective look at retrospectives,” “Printmaking and moral instruction,” “The year of the watercolor and sculpture,” “Master artists versus young talent,” “Latin America is back in the game,” and “What stands out this year.” This extensive article encompasses topics relevant to 1987, and also implicitly, to the close of a decade (the eighties) that witnesses a return to traditional artistic languages, such as painting, due to the influence of the Transavantgarde. In addition to established artists and institutions, González discusses lesser known figures and exhibitions that specifically included what were seen as minor techniques (printmaking and watercolor) that played a greater role in this year in local exhibitions that featured major international artists. González provides a felicitous “visual” map that features well established artists such as Edgar Negret (b. 1920), Alejandro Obregón (1920–1992), Darío Jiménez (b. 1919) and others, as well as those whose art was taking shape in the late eighties: María Fernanda Cardoso (b. 1963), Doris Salcedo (b. 1958) and Bibiana Vélez (b. 1956). González speaks of artists, their backgrounds, and their works without losing sight of the context in which they operate. She also points out the importance of cultural institutions, galleries, and the media in supporting and recognizing what was going on in the local art scene.