Bio: Lillian Jacobson (b. 1994, Bogotá, Colombia) is a Baltimore-based Latiné artist defining “belonging” through figurative painting. Adopted into a white American family, Lillian has always been attuned to how she is seen by others, which informs her empathetic approach to portraiture. Lillian holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has exhibited in group shows across the region, including the Walters Art Museum, Maryland Art Place, Chesapeake Arts Center, Bowie City Hall, Maryland Federation of Art, and the Delaplaine Arts Center, where she won the People’s Choice Award for the 2024 exhibition, Emerging Perspectives. She is a 2025 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize Finalist.

Artist Statement: I am a figurative painter carving out spaces where people can fully belong. As a Latiné artist born in Colombia and adopted into a white American family in Baltimore, I have always lived in the in-between and been hyper-aware of how I am received in any space. I have been yelled at to “go back to my country” in the only country I’ve called home, yet I have also apologized for not being able to speak Spanish. My paintings reflect on my past experiences and assert belonging as not fitting into a single definition and being an either/or, but showing up fully and claiming space. 

Baltimore is my home and greatest inspiration. I see a sense of being othered reflected in this city—being misunderstood or judged harshly by outsiders with a limited perspective. My paintings merge portraiture with imagery I paint from my photographs taken in Baltimore and on my travels. The layered and background elements of my portraits are a reminder that belonging is not only about place but how we interact within it.

In today’s political landscape, the right to be wholly yourself is increasingly challenged. I paint to honor the radiance of those who hold nothing back, honor the stories that shape us, and show the presence we bring to the spaces we claim. My artwork challenges viewers to look past the surface at the full picture of person and place.