The Art Institute of Chicago opens Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color to the public on Sunday, November 15, 2026, after a member preview on November 14. On Monday, November 16, what would have been the late Colombian artist’s 94th birthday, the show’s curators lead a free gallery walk through the exhibition.
Key Takeaways
- Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color runs November 15, 2026, through March 1, 2027, in Galleries 124–127.
- Members get a full day of access on Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Curators Mark Pascale and Felipe Villada Ruiz lead a Gallery Conversation on Monday, November 16, from 2 to 3 p.m., free with museum admission and with no registration required.
- Illinois residents receive free general admission on Thursday, November 19, from 5 to 8 p.m.
- The exhibition brings together more than 80 drawings, prints, sketches, sketchbooks, objects and archival materials.
Members Get a Full Day Inside the Exhibition on November 14
The Art Institute of Chicago reserves Saturday, November 14, for members. The museum lists the preview as a full day of member-only access to Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., before the exhibition opens to everyone the next morning.
For members, the preview offers a quieter first look at a show the museum describes as the first retrospective dedicated to González’s drawings and prints. It covers more than six decades of work by the artist, historian, curator and mentor known in Colombia as la maestra, who died earlier this year.
The Public Opening Brings More Than 80 Works to Galleries 124–127
Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color opens to the public on Sunday, November 15, in Galleries 124–127. The exhibition gathers more than 80 drawings, prints, sketches, sketchbooks, objects and archival materials, tracing how González used appropriation and repetition to question the circulation of images, notions of taste and her country’s recent history.
A few works mark turning points worth finding on a first visit. The Suicides of Sisga I (1965) is the work the museum identifies as the moment González began breaking from the subjects and visual language considered acceptable in Colombian fine art. Illustrated News (1973) and the 1975 color screenprint Jackeline Oasis both carry Art Institute acquisition credits through the Margaret Fisher Endowment Fund, a sign of the museum’s own investment in her work. Frieze of Tragedy (1983) reflects a later period, when her work turned toward political violence, public figures and the anonymous victims of conflict and disaster.
Opening Sunday also lands on a busy cultural weekend in the city, including Black Harvest Film Festival’s Chicago shorts program on November 13 and 15.
Curators Lead a Free Gallery Walk on What Would Have Been González’s 94th Birthday
On Monday, November 16, from 2 to 3 p.m., the Art Institute of Chicago marks what would have been Beatriz González’s 94th birthday with a Gallery Conversation led by the exhibition’s two curators. The museum lists the walk as free with museum admission and with no registration required, meeting in Gallery 125.
Both guides come from the museum’s Prints and Drawings department. Mark Pascale, the Janet and Craig Duchossois Curator of Prints and Drawings, is a lithographer who has worked in the Chicago art world for more than 40 years as a curator, researcher and teacher, and is a senior lecturer in Print Media at the School of the Art Institute. Felipe Villada Ruiz is a senior research associate in the same department. For visitors interested in how prints are made and collected, the walk offers context that wall labels alone cannot.
Illinois Residents Can Visit Free on Thursday, November 19
Opening week ends with a free evening for Illinois residents. The Art Institute of Chicago offers free general admission to Illinois residents on the third Thursday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m., which falls on November 19 this month. Residents who want to see the exhibition that evening should confirm exhibition access when reserving, since the museum has not specified whether the show is included in general admission.
Chicagoans building a week around Latin American art can also visit the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, which marked 40 years of Day of the Dead programming this fall.
Planning a Visit to the Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, at 111 South Michigan Avenue, is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The museum is closed Tuesdays, and the first hour, from 10 to 11 a.m., is reserved for members.
General admission is $32 for adults and $26 for seniors, students and teens ages 14 to 17. Admission is free for children under 14, Chicago teens under 18, Link and WIC cardholders and Illinois educators. Tickets for the exhibition are available through the Art Institute. Visitors continuing north on Michigan Avenue can add the Chicago Cultural Center’s free fall and winter exhibition season.
FAQs
When Does the Beatriz González Exhibition Open at the Art Institute of Chicago?
Beatriz González: In Series and Full Color opens to the public on Sunday, November 15, 2026, and runs through March 1, 2027. Members can preview it on Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Is the November 16 Gallery Conversation Free?
Yes. The museum lists the November 16 Gallery Conversation as free with museum admission, with no registration required. It runs from 2 to 3 p.m. and meets in Gallery 125.
Is the Art Institute of Chicago Free on November 19?
Illinois residents receive free general admission on Thursday, November 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., as part of the museum’s Third Thursday program.
How Much Does the Art Institute of Chicago Cost?
General admission is $32 for adults and $26 for seniors, students and teens ages 14 to 17. Children under 14 and Chicago teens under 18 are admitted free.
