Venezuelan-born contemporary artist Arturo Herrera trained at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Currently based in Berlin, Herrera is acclaimed for his vibrant abstract paintings that employ fragmentation and layering techniques built upon the intricate collage work that he focused on primarily early in his career. His diverse yet meticulous oeuvre, spanning collage, sculpture, and wall painting, draws from modernist visual languages to explore the complex legacy of abstraction. Often incorporating found materials and familiar imagery, Herrera's art prompts multiple interpretations from viewers, engaging with themes of memory, recollection, and cultural references. Known for blending innocent cartoon imagery with darker psychological themes, Herrera's art challenges conventional notions of figuration and abstraction. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions worldwide, and he has likewise received numerous awards and fellowships, notably from the Louis Comfort Tiffany and Pollock-Krasner Foundations. Herrera's work is already housed in prestigious public collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Tate Modern in London, and the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid.
Arturo Herrera discusses his artistic process with Art21
My work actually tries to discourage a specific message. It tries to free a place up, to clarify through ambiguity. I use strategies of design and placement to enable the viewer to access the image. In other words, it's a bridge, but it is paved with the viewer's own references and associations.
Arturo Herrera
