When the Grace of Age Brings Creative Success

The remarkable life and art of Luchita Hurtado

Luchita Hurtado, 2019, © Luchita Hurtado. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Oresti Tsonopoulos

There is something hypnotic about the artwork of Luchita Hurtado. When I saw them I found myself hooked in, compelled to look beyond the layers of paint.

Driven by the spark of creativity from a young age, Hurtado created numerous tantalising works yet only won public recognition as an artist whilst she was in her 90s.

In her long life she mastered the art of suggestiveness. Much like the sensation you find in dreams, her paintings seize our attention because of their unconventional logic.

Hurtado died in 2020, three months shy of her 100th birthday. The story of her life in art reveals the ultimate power of persistence, and demonstrates that it’s never too late to realise your creative ambitions.

Unconventional Perspectives

Luchita Hurtado, Untitled 1969, © Luchita Hurtado Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. Purchased through the Board of Overseers Acquisition Fund. Image courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth Photo: Jeff McLane

Take this painting, made by Hurtado in 1969.

It’s part of her “I Am” series of works, and adopts a first-person vantage point, looking downwards at her own body as she walks (apparently cautiously) across a Latin-American woven rug.