The earthly world and lovers of art said goodbye on Saturday, December 21, to one of its prodigal sons: the Argentine painter and visual artist, Mexican by adoption, Hugo Laurencena, who died at 74 in his residence in Mexico City, where he had lived since 2000.
Born in Buenos Aires on March 16, 1950, Laurencena moved to New York in the late 1970s, driven by his passion for art. It was in that city that he began to consolidate his singular style and gain recognition in major galleries and international artistic circles.
To call Hugo Laurencena a visual artist doesn’t do him justice, because for those who knew him — including the author of this piece — his hyperrealist technique had that mastery only the greats possess, beyond his bohemian spirit, his rigor, and his pursuit of perfection in detail in service of exalting the beauty of things.
For more than a decade, his work was shown in solo and group exhibitions around the world, appearing in renowned museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, and the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo.
On his journey, which took him to live in Miami and Buenos Aires, Laurencena relocated to Mexico City, where he continued painting prolifically, placing works in the most important private collections and museums of Mexico, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Switzerland, and France.
Over his career he received numerous awards and distinctions, among them a Special Mention at the Salón Nacional in Buenos Aires in 1998 and First Prize at BASF Argentina in 1993. His work quite literally ‘deceived’ the human eye, and it was his eye for detail that set him apart.
One of the most significant moments of Hugo Laurencena’s career was his solo exhibition in 2012 at the Museo Nacional de Arte de México (MUNAL), which cemented his presence on the Mexican art scene.
In June 2023, Forbes en Español visited his atelier to see the work that kept him occupied until his final days, where he was preparing exhibitions in Monterrey and North Carolina.
Beyond his affable personality and his gift for magnifying beauty, we at this publication will always hold him close to our hearts for illustrating the cover of our 2016 Millionaires issue with a hyperreal ‘portrait’ of Carlos Slim rendered in his style — the very style that will make us remember him for the profound beauty of his work.
Following his recent passing, the artist’s daughter will take on the work of continuing to promote his legacy through social media, his website, and events.