Fabio Hurtado - 1960 - Madrid, Spain

FABIO HURTADO
Born 1960 - Madrid, Spain

The work of Fabio Hurtado exudes a sense of timelessness, a detachment from the surrounding world. There is a wistful melancholy which glimmers in the sad eyes and which envelopes the pensive reverie of his figures and, just as his shapes fascinate us with their solid, rounded forms, the relations between his figures and objects stir up unease.

There is a peculiar magnetism about the work of Hurtado, transmitted by the calm dynamism, which his use of colour engenders. The static sensation instilled by his images invites puzzling questions. Why are his central characters nearly always women, often with a determined, vain air. Why are spheres used, again and again, and why are animals so often present? The sum which contributes to the lucid, compositional rhythm, ever expounded in his work.

Fabio Hurtado manages to transform geometry into a romantic yet austere code, which at the same time is voluptuous and enchanting. It seems that his figurative art – so concrete, aesthetic and lucid, takes the most abstract paths in a quest for the possible significance hidden with each scene and behind every gaze. Rather than playing at seduction, Hurtado’s figures face us bravely and securely, as if taking for granted that our direct observation will not easily lead us to an answer.

Each scenario sets before us the plot of an appealing and absorbing story, and alongside this mystery lies beauty, translated by Hurtado into unreal, yet fascinating, impossible yet justifiable, dimensions and silhouettes. One is aware and assumes that apparent simplicity hides deeper content.