Luis Caballero (Colombian, 1947-1995)

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, on August 27, 1947, Luis Caballero, a painter, and draftsman, was considered one of the most important figures in Colombian art. He died of AIDS at age 52 on June 19, 1995. The Luis Caballero Award, the most essential plastic arts award in Colombia, bears his name. His work was shown in the 1969 Biennale de Paris and the 1984 Venice Biennale.

In 1961 Caballero began his studies in Fine Arts at the University de Los Andes in Colombia. He recognized the painter Juan Antonio Roda and his teacher, the artist Marta Traba, who influenced his work. In 1963, she traveled to France, where Caballero entered the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris 3, where he lived for several years. During this period, he said he was influenced by the work of De Kooning and Bacon. In 1968, he won the first prize at the I Bienal de Medellín. That same year, Luis Caballero settled permanently in Paris. In 1970 his work began to observe the history of art; this inclination was highlighted in 1973 in an exhibition in Bogotá, with an apparent reference to the Renaissance. He returned to Bogotá in 1995 on the occasion of an exhibition of a drawing series at the Luis Ángel Arango Library.