Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight
January 22, 2017
Carmen Herrera
Lines of Sight
I finally went to go see the Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York on the very last day of showing.
I'd been meaning to go, but I was working on building my interior design business. So saying, "I was busy", is an understatement.
Fortunately, the clouds parted on the very last day, and I ran, well, took the train, to go see the exhibit. It was everything I hoped for and more. I am overwhelmingly inspired by her work, perseverance, and life-long passion for art (she's now 101-years-old and still making art!). It's beautiful. All of it.
The exhibit focused on Carmen's art between 1948 to 1978, where she went through her developmental phase with abstraction, and then eventually developed her signature trademark of narrowing down to what's essential. HerGreen and Orange, 1958 piece and her Banco y Verde, 1959, with its minimal deep green on two panels was so pure and breathtaking.
I walked around several times to fully understand how far she had come with her work. This isn't minimal for minimal sake, it's her dedication and inventive nature to constantly develop as an artist and eventually create something that's purely essential. As is the case with all the great artists.
Every line, every color is intended. To get to a place, as an artist, of finding the personal creative identity, that is appreciated by others, is everything to me. Her work and her spirit had me on that fifth floor.
You can also catch her documentary on Netflix called "The 100 Years Show".