Arturo Herrera (b. 1959)

Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York
Private Collection, Miami

The art work appears to be in excellent condition. The top collage element is glued in spots rather than fully glued down. Therefore, some of the top elements are lifting higher than others. Care should be taken that these elements do not remain in contact with the glazing. The piece was examined in the frame, therefore, the condition of the substrate and quality of adhesives were not checked. This condition reports has been prepared courtesy of Mary Kearns Paper Conservation.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Over the span of twenty years, Arturo Herrera (Caracas, 1959) has devoted himself to mastering collage as a working method that allows him to adapt the history of abstraction and the myths that surround it to the liminal conditions of representation in the post-national zeitgeist.

Unlike Carlos Cruz Diez, Alejandro Otero, and Jesús Rafael Soto-the foundational triad of Venezuelan Kinetic and geometric abstract artists-whose designation of origin is grounded in the narratives converged on the nation-state, Herrera's practice has been framed by global tendencies.  Herrera is focused on recovering the expressive possibilities of collage through an unusual combination of materials, as well as an exploration of various conceptual paths. More interested in the idea of abstraction or its archeology, Herrera has embraced strategies of appropriation and collaboration that helped him to delve into and reconfigure mass-produced imagery such as, comics and children's coloring books in his works on paper, felt pieces, wall paintings, photographs and sculptures. The Castle series of painted cut outs made in 2005 are part of Herrera's excavations on collage that allowed him the possibility to break up reality or reassemble fragments into a cohesive whole, eschewing identification or recomposition, leaving these tasks to the viewer's imagination.

 

Gabriela Rangel
April 2012