About Carmen Herrera

Carmen Herrera (1915–2022) was a pioneering Cuban-American abstract artist celebrated for her bold use of color and geometric precision. Over a career spanning more than eight decades, she became a leading figure in geometric abstraction and minimalism, recognized alongside Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, and Frank Stella. Her paintings and limited edition prints exemplify a mastery of clarity, balance, and spatial harmony, making her one of the most influential abstract artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Born in Havana, Herrera studied architecture at the Universidad de La Habana before moving to New York in 1939. Her training in architecture profoundly shaped her visual language, evident in the crisp lines and meticulous structures that define her abstract art. Living and working in a male-dominated art scene, she faced decades of neglect despite her groundbreaking vision. Nevertheless, Herrera remained committed to her artistic path, producing vibrant compositions that fused precision with emotional restraint.

Her perseverance was finally rewarded later in life. In her 80s and 90s, Carmen Herrera received long-overdue recognition from the international art world, becoming a symbol of resilience and artistic integrity. Exhibitions at major museums brought her work to global audiences, positioning her as a central voice in the history of minimalism and abstract art.

Herrera’s paintings and abstract prints transcend conventional boundaries, transforming simple shapes and color fields into compositions that evoke rhythm, structure, and timeless elegance. Her dedication to abstraction, carried forward across nearly a century, challenges assumptions about age and creativity, proving that innovation has no limits. Today, her artworks continue to inspire collectors, museums, and contemporary audiences, affirming her legacy as a true master of modern abstraction.

Notable exhibitions

Carmen Herrera’s abstract art has been celebrated in major institutional exhibitions worldwide, bringing overdue recognition to her pioneering role in geometric abstraction. In 2016, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York presented Lines of Sight, her first major museum retrospective, which introduced her precise geometric paintings and prints to a broad international audience.

Her work has also been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., underscoring her importance within the history of minimalism and abstraction. In 2019, the exhibition Carmen Herrera: Estructuras at the New York City Museum of Art focused on her sculptural practice, expanding the understanding of her contribution beyond painting and printmaking.