Débora Arango Pérez was a Colombian artist, born in Medellín, Colombia as the daughter of Castor María Arango Díaz and Elvira Pérez. Though she was primarily a painter, Arango also worked in other media, such as ceramics and graphic art. Throughout her career, Arango used her artwork to explore many politically charged and controversial issues, her subjects ranging from nude women to the role of the Roman Catholic Church to dictatorships.
Arango’s artworks are dramatic, with consistent brush strokes throughout. Because much of her art has political and / or social implications, Arango’s technique is used to evoke emotions and inspire the viewer. It is because of this that Arango is often characterized as a figurative expressionist. Expressionism can be identified by the altering and distorting of reality to convey a subjective meaning, and this is certainly evident in Arango’s works. Her style, along with her social and political subject matter, is also a factor for why Arango’s work was often overlooked and / or rejected during much of her career. Cubism was the popular movement at this time, and Arango refused to cater to what was considered acceptable.
Colombian, 1907-2005