A Colombian painter and sculptor, first prise of XXVll National Artist Saloon of Colombia after being Marta Traba, Armando Villegas and Juan Antonio Roda ́s apprentice at Andes and Nacional University in Bogotá (1961-1965), with her serie Ventanas, which evolved to a more abstract serie called Atmosphere with clear surfaces, relatively close to white and imperceptible variations. Moreover, by the mid 80 ́s, Hoyos abandon abstractisim and incurs in figures, this time with nacionalist themes such as Palenque (First town Free of the Americas), a land that Ana dedicated more than 25 years of investigation and studies.

Ana’s work emphasises at the first place to the Slavery, the traffic of human beings for economical purposes that have existed in our history as humans, even this phenomenon has occurred in every continent, Ana focuses particularly on the African Slavery and the Afrodescendant population in Latin America, analyses Americas map, the process of social conformation and the culture as a result.

Palenque “the first free town of America” located in the north of Colombia, is where Ana took all the inspiration from, lived for her discovery that captured in her art, Hoyos interprets the strength of Afro communities on their traditions and convictions towards live, family, spirituality that have endure with time and under extreme conditions.

Las Palanganas (woman carrying fruits) as Slave ships, Knifes and Tie knots became symbols and elements of Ana’s work; the Tie knots not only talk about African costumes and traditions but also the elegance that is a characteristic of Palenqueros, dresses that were used in ceremonies and festivities, Ana has captured this tie knots in acrylic on canvas, moreover those knots are drawings, concretions of ideas through lines creating blueprints, environment, different perspectives, volume and spaces.
Since three decades the work of Ana Mercedes has made visible a social problem which only recently has been taken into account, moreover it has been taken for cultural and artistic discussions and through exhibitions, representations and simplifications of distinctive elements, the Afro communities in Colombia and the world have as a reference another example, this time as the dominant culture which allows their recognition the particularity of their own culture and acquire a wider consciousness towards their identity.