Herrera, an educator and military veteran, is one of the three artists whose work is on display at the “Three Strong Women” exhibit in the Main Campus Gallery, curated by Phillip Marquez, gallery director and art professor at SAC.
Four of Herrera’s sculptures, her preferred art form, are featured in the exhibit. Each of them are humanoid-looking creations, approximately 6-feet tall, lanky like a tree. Herrera takes inspiration from her own body in these works, mimicking the shape and form of various body parts such as her arm or face and putting the shapes into her sculptures to create a long-lasting connection to her artwork. Two of the sculptures, respectively titled, “The Courageous Beauty” and “A Finicky Purveyor” are made up of objects such as twisted rebars, mannequin legs, giant hand-drawn and carved sheets of metal, variously colored fabrics and ribbons, and even doll heads with rainbow afros made of yarn and thread.
The other two sculptures, titled “A Forthright Advocate” and “The Premiere Belle” are some of Herrera’s newer pieces. “The Premiere Belle” features a long hand-carved metal piece that flows down the back of the sculpture like the train of a dress. …