LIMA.- MATE - Museo Mario Testino presents George Hurrell: Legends in Light, the first exhibition in its new series on iconic photographers: Los Maestros de la Fotografia.

Opening at MATE in Lima on September 16th and curated by Campbell-Rey in collaboration with Mario Testino, Legends in Light is the first exhibition of works by George Hurrell in South America.

George Hurrell (1904 – 1992) was considered a master of studio portraiture and his photographs have come to define the glamour and elegance of the Golden Age of Hollywood. With a prolific career that began in the late 1920s, Hurrell immortalised the most iconic stars of the era including Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Katharine Hepburn, elevating them to gods and goddesses of the silver screen.

Having studied to become a classical painter in his youth, Hurrell’s training helped shape his photography in later life. With an innate understanding of composition, he used light to sculpt his subjects’ features and shadow to create a striking sense of drama. These elements quickly became signatures of his style. Alongside Hurrell’s skilled use of high contrast lighting, sharp focus and meticulous printing techniques, his pictures created an unmistakable aesthetic that would influence many of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century. Hurrell’s ability to capture the allure of his subjects was instrumental not only in establishing the enduring legend of Hollywood, but also in contributing to the history of photographic portraiture.

“George feels the light” say Sharon Stone, one of the last subjects to be captured by Hurrell before he passed away in 1992. “It’s almost like he looks at the air between he and you. And you can just feel it when he moves the lights. You just sense that the light is inviting you into the photograph. It’s an amazing experience. It’s just magic.”