Carmen Herrera

Carmen Herrera (1915–2022) was a Cuban American artist whose vibrant, geometric abstraction bridged North American and European Minimalism and Op art movements with modernist movements in Latin America. Although widespread recognition of her work came later in her life, she is now considered a significant figure in modern art.

Born in 1915 in Havana, Cuba, Herrera showed an early interest in art and architecture, which led her to study architecture at the University of Havana and later at the Art Students League in New York. The origins to Herrera practice dated to her early career in Havana and Paris. However, her studies were interrupted by politic upheaval, and in 1939 she married Jesse Loewenthal, an English teacher at Manhattan’s Stuyvesant High School. The couple later moved to New York.

Between 1948 and 1953, Herrera and Loewenthal stayed in Paris. There, Herrera encountered the legacy of early 20th-century Constructivism. She participated in a number of group exhibitions, including Art cubain contemporain at the Musée National d’Art Moderne in 1951 and the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles — a bastion of post-war geometric abstraction founded in 1946. In the Salon, Herrera got acquainted with the works of the School of Paris by artists such as Auguste Herbin, Jean Arp and Sonia Delaunay, as well as an international roster that included Jesús Rafael Soto, Alejandro Otero, Victor Vasarely, and Ellsworth Kelly.

Reflecting on this period, the artist remarked, ‘I was looking for a pictorial vocabulary and I found it there. But when we moved back to New York, this type of art was not acceptable. Abstract Expressionism was in fashion and I couldn’t get a gallery.’ Despite her exceptional talent, Herrera’s work was largely overlooked for decades. It wasn’t until she was in her 80s that Herrera began to receive the recognition she deserved.

Back in New York, Herrera grew close to other post-war abstractionists, including Leon Polk Smith, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. Her work is defined by its precise geometric forms, bold use of colour and an acute sense of balance and symmetry. Herrera continued to produce work, however, it was only in the 2000s that she began being featured in solo exhibitions.

In 2016 the Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of Herrera’s work. Carmen Herrera died in 2022, aged 106. Her legacy is one of perseverance, talent and an unwavering commitment to her artistic vision.