EXVOTOS DE LA DESOBEDIENCIA: DÉBORA ARANGO EN DIÁLOGO CON ALFONSO QUIJANO
The exhibition "Exvotos de la desobediencia: Débora Arango en diálogo con Alfonso Quijano" at the Claustro de San Agustín of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, curated by María Belén Sáez de Ibarra, brings together paintings and watercolors by Débora Arango (born 1907) alongside woodcuts by Alfonso Quijano (born 1927). The show proposes a dialogue that addresses persistent violence, inequality, and exclusion in contemporary life, with sacred symbols coexisting with bodies marked by desire, guilt, hunger, and resistance. Arango's work is presented as one of the earliest and most radical expressions of feminism in Latin American art, challenging patriarchal structures that have historically marginalized women and their images from public spaces.
This exhibition matters because it reframes Arango's radical feminist practice for a contemporary audience, linking historical struggles to ongoing social issues. By pairing Arango's unflinching depictions of oppressed bodies with Quijano's reflections on violence inscribed in land and rural memory, the show creates a dual memory of bodies marked by history and a territory scarred by persistent wounds. The title's reference to "exvotos sin milagro" (ex-votos without miracle) underscores the unresolved nature of these conditions, positioning disobedience not only as a political gesture but as a form of knowledge and resistance against normalized narratives of suffering.