LLUÍS HORTALÀ was born in Olot, Catalonia, Spain. He studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in his hometown from 1964 to 1975, and at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in Barcelona from 1977 to 1978.

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In 1991, he presented Opac at Sala Montcada, Fundació “la Caixa”, in Barcelona. The exhibition marked the beginning of the series Topographies of Vision: circular wall sculptures made of wood coated with polyester. He subsequently developed works related to architecture and bodily structures, while also exploring ceramics.

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From 1995 to 2001, he lived and worked in London as an artist-in-residence at Delfina Studio. During this period, he further developed his research into landscape and experimented with light, drawing and sculpture. He also began a series of works based on his own experiences as a mountaineer, which continued until 2013.

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In 2014 and 2015, he studied traditional painting techniques, including marble and wood graining, using trompe-l’œil methods at the Van der Kelen Academy in Brussels. These techniques enabled him to develop a critical approach to a series of works exploring the symbolic values of architecture and ornament. Palatial interiors and the empty galleries of museums become settings for reflecting on the mechanisms of power, the law and the act of judging.

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His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Museo del Prado and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid; the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon; the Museo Artium in Vitoria-Gasteiz; Carré d’Art in Nîmes; and the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (CGAC) in Santiago de Compostela. His work is also held in numerous public and private collections.