News The beloved artist, who got her first solo show at age 85, was known for rhythmic compositions that balanced painterly form and textual matter. April 23, 2026 — 3 min read Ides Kihlen in her Buenos Aires studio (photo Richard Schultz, courtesy Hutchinson Modern & Contemporary) Ides Kihlen, the beloved Argentinian abstract painter whose first solo exhibition came at age 85, died on April 14 at age 108. The news of her death was announced by Galería Via Margutta in Córdoba, which has represented the artist since 2012. From her early arts education as a teenager, Kihlen remained committed to her dual love of painting and music throughout her nine-decade career. Bolstered by a daily routine that entailed painting from the moment she woke up and playing the piano after sunset, her approach to art-making was lyrical and often guided by the unconscious. “I used to half-close my eyes, trying to block my thoughts as if meditating, and then attempt to compose the picture I had envisioned,” Kihlen said .…