Art Now: Hazel Lutz
Art Now: Hazel Lutz
Oct 8, 2021
Hazel Lutz is redefining softness in abstraction. Her pastel paintings, awash in gesture and atmosphere, evoke a sense of quiet urgency. Working primarily in soft pastels on paper and panel, Lutz builds layers of color that seem to breathe. Her brushy marks are loose yet intentional, creating compositions that feel both spontaneous and deeply considered. In her latest series, Drift Forms, Lutz explores the emotional resonance of color and movement.
The works are abstract, but never distant—they hum with intimacy. Critics have described her palette as “whispered,” full of pale violets, dusty blues, and sun-faded ochres. Lutz’s process is intuitive, often beginning with a single gesture and evolving through repetition and erasure. “I’m chasing the feeling of something half-remembered,” she says. Her paintings resist interpretation, instead inviting reflection. The brushwork is fluid, almost musical, with rhythms that echo across the surface. Lutz cites influences ranging from Helen Frankenthaler to contemporary textile design. Her studio in Echo Park is filled with light, music, and stacks of pastel sticks worn down to nubs. The work is deeply tactile, with surfaces that reveal the hand behind them. Viewers often describe her paintings as “emotional landscapes” or “internal weather.” Lutz’s recent solo show at a Silver Lake gallery drew praise for its vulnerability and cohesion. She is currently preparing for a residency in the Pacific Northwest, where she plans to explore fog and forest as visual metaphors. Through abstraction, Hazel Lutz offers a language for softness, uncertainty, and grace. Her paintings don’t shout—they shimmer.
The works are abstract, but never distant—they hum with intimacy. Critics have described her palette as “whispered,” full of pale violets, dusty blues, and sun-faded ochres. Lutz’s process is intuitive, often beginning with a single gesture and evolving through repetition and erasure. “I’m chasing the feeling of something half-remembered,” she says. Her paintings resist interpretation, instead inviting reflection. The brushwork is fluid, almost musical, with rhythms that echo across the surface. Lutz cites influences ranging from Helen Frankenthaler to contemporary textile design. Her studio in Echo Park is filled with light, music, and stacks of pastel sticks worn down to nubs. The work is deeply tactile, with surfaces that reveal the hand behind them. Viewers often describe her paintings as “emotional landscapes” or “internal weather.” Lutz’s recent solo show at a Silver Lake gallery drew praise for its vulnerability and cohesion. She is currently preparing for a residency in the Pacific Northwest, where she plans to explore fog and forest as visual metaphors. Through abstraction, Hazel Lutz offers a language for softness, uncertainty, and grace. Her paintings don’t shout—they shimmer.
