Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

If you haven’t yet visited Ruby City, here’s a good reason to go: the new exhibit featuring the work of Venezzuelan-born artist, Arturo Herrera, who now lives in Berlin. Though the show is housed in the Studio Gallery in Chris Park, a short distance from the main museum, you can do it all in a couple of hours.

Years ago, Herrera came to San Antonio for a residency at Artpace, where he met and befriended founder Linda Pace. According to reports, she appreciated his work and purchased a number of pieces, which are now part of Ruby City’s permanent collection. Those artworks, plus additional recent donations by the artist himself, make Ruby City a major repository of Herrera’s art.

In fact, the current exhibit is not his first here in San Antonio, and many San Antonians are probably familiar with his red mural downtown, called “Adam.”

The current show, Arturo Herrera: Constructed Collage, features more than 20 pieces though some are grouped in assemblages that enhance the impact of each component. At first glance, the Studio Gallery looks empty-ish but there’s enough there to represent the artist’s interests and techniques. Overall, his work is often described as exploring “the shifting border between legibility and abstraction,” and that’s very much the impression one gets while viewing this show. Herrera’s output includes paintings, wall hangings, prints, sculpture, and collage, the latter being popular with a lot of artists these days.

“I think that Arturo is truly tapping into the current moment that we are living through,” said Ruby City’s director, Elyse Gonzales, who curated the exhibit. “We are inundated with fragmented information and feel fragmented ourselves. Collages become part of art in times of disruption. For example, Picasso made collages as early as 1912 in the tumult of modernity and the chaotic years leading up to WWI. Hannah Hoch also started producing collages during wartime. It’s an art that speaks to our feelings at the moment. But another thing that’s great about Arturo, is that he truly wants everybody to bring their own associations and ideas to his work. In that sense, the work is very generous like Arturo himself. It’s very open, relying on the intelligence of the viewer.”

A piece that is bound to attract your attention upon entering the gallery is a red-felt wall tapestry-type work from 2002 that has no title. Like so many others, it can evoke a range of associations as Gonzales mentioned. She recognizes the power of the work, calling it “striking and seductive.” “It can be evocative of vine or wires; there are so many ways you can make your way into that work,” she said, “I always want to pat it as I pass it,” she added with a chuckle.  

“A colorful set of eight framed silk-screen prints, grouped together under the title, “Les Noces” (“Wedding”) appears to have been inspired by dance as it’s full of movement and momentum, with bits of dancers’ bodies shown here and there. The French title connects it to the ballet by the same title composed by Igor Stravinsky. (In this show it’s referred to as “Las Bodas”)

A small colorful sculpture in the middle of the room, “Bang” is surrounded by a bunch of colorful prints. And there is an interesting juxtaposition of two small pieces, one small fluffy piece high up on the wall, like a cloud, with one tiny blue construction on the floor, that looked like a mini boat to this writer. Both can be easily missed, but try not to miss them. Clouds and boats- there’s definitely a connection.

Asked what her favorite work was, Gonzales, pointed to a set of four black-on-white prints featuring enigmatic shapes. Again, one can make all sorts of associations.

Herrera was educated in the U.S. where he first received his BFA in 1982 from the University of Tulsa, OK, followed by an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, in 1992. His work has been exhibited in solo shows in museums and galleries throughout Europe and the U.S., including such places as Le Centre d’Art Contemporain in Geneva, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

The artist will be in San Antonio later this month for the official opening and reception on March 19, 2-6 p.m. The exhibit will be on view through Jan. 2023.
——————————————————————————————————————–
Ruby City, 150 Camp St./Studio Gallery in Chris Park/open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thursday-Sunday; free; www.rubycity.org.