Luchita Hurtado · a glance at the sky From 13 May to 30 July 2022, Hauser & Wirth presents in London an exhibition of recent works by artist Luchita Hurtado. Source: Hauser & Wirth · Image: Luchita Hurtado, "Untitled", c. 1976. Oil on canvas, 42,5 x 58,4 cm. © The Estate of Luchita Hurtado. Courtesy The Estate of Luchita Hurtado / Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Jeff McLane Born in Venezuela, but a resident of the United States since the age of eight, the work of Luchita Hurtado (1920 - 2020) was influenced by diverse styles, especially surrealism and American magical realism, a testimony to both her origins and her travels in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, where she became acquainted with artists such as Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington and Rufino Tamayo. The exhibition at Hauser & Wirth includes never-before-exhibited works from the artist's "Sky Skin" series.  In a press release, the gallery explains that "beginning in the mid-1970s, Hurtado’s gaze turned upwards, inverting the downward-facing perspective of her earlier I Am paintings. A selection of transitional drawings merge these series, as elements of the female body, including breast, stomach and knee viewed from a down-cast angle, transform into rolling mountains in a continuation of the artist’s imaginative experimentation with figurative landscapes. In the Sky Skins, Hurtado’s skies are often encircled by craggy earth, referencing the mountains of Taos, New Mexico, where Hurtado spent her summers, as well as the hills of Santa Monica Canyon, where the artist resided the remainder of the year." "These paintings that see Hurtado looking upwards reflect her search for spiritual truths," the gallery adds. "The shift in this series, following on from her more self-reflexive ‘I Am’ works, is towards an understanding of the connectivity of all beings within the world and the cosmos, including humans, animals, and nature. Striking works from this series, ‘Distant Gravity of a Day’ (1977) and ‘The Umbilical Cord of the Earth is the Moon’ (1977) epitomise Hurtado’s pursuit of the other worldly, and a wider contemplation on life and death. These works are depictions of cloud, moon and sky with jagged rock and mountain ground wrapped around the edges, demonstrating a view from inside, as if peering through a cave, passageway or grave. In others, the sky resembles the shape of stretched animal hides, giving the series its title."

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