NICHOLAS HERRERA Corazón y Alma (Heart and Soul) by Evoke Contemporary

NICHOLAS HERRERA ow h s y a olid h l a 017 i 2 , h t Spec 29 r e b Decem ay 5-7pm Frid

Corazón y Alma (Heart and Soul)

Photo: Tom Quinn Kumpf

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Northern New Mexico folk artist Nicholas Herrera once lived a reckless lifestyle, one that led him to a neardeath experience at the young age of twenty-five. A car accident put him into a coma, and what turned out to be a cleansing spiritual experience shifted his trajectory in life. “It changed the whole way of living for me,” says Nicholas Herrera. “I felt that when I got out of the hospital, every evil thing had gone out of my body.” Now, Nicholas uses his artwork to seek meaning in his own life while giving back to others. His work pays homage to traditional religious santero art while adding contemporary elements that voice his unique identity and perspectives. Nicholas Herrera also uses his talents for charitable causes, from making art with troubled teens to creating altar screens in renovated churches. Nicholas’ most recent charitable adventure was unsolicited, however, arriving at his studio by surprise. It began when Nicholas Herrera’s daughter, Elena, found an abandoned dog in a remote area in Colora1 do. The dog was sweet-natured and loving, and Elena couldn’t leave her behind. She took her to local shelters but found no owner so she named her “Ticka” and brought her to Nicholas, who agreed to adopt the dog and keep her at his studio in El Rito. Nicholas Herrera’s daughter, Elena, with puppies A few weeks later, Nicholas woke up in the middle of the night to chirping sounds inside his house. But when he followed the sounds in search of what he thought were birds, he found nine puppies in his living room and no Ticka. “The dog took off,” says Nicholas, “She said I’m not gonna deal with this. But I went out looking and found her. I guess she thought I would be mad because of the puppies. So I had a talk with her. I said this is your responsibility too, but I’ll help!” Nicholas built a little dog house with a fence to corral the puppies in his studio, but they ended up wander-

Cover photo credit: Tom Quinn Kumpf

ing around freely while he worked. “It was like my little zoo in there,” says the artist. Elena, who is in school in Santa Fe at the New Mexico School for the Arts, would come and play with the puppies on the weekends at her dad’s studio. Together, they found a home for every puppy, even though Nicholas had a pretty tough interview process for the potential owners. Nicholas planned to keep one of the puppies but when he took her to the vet to get spayed, there was a young boy who quickly fell in love with the animal – so Nicholas gave her to him. He still has Ticka, who Nicholas says snuggles under his arm while he drives. She also keeps him company at the studio, which according to the artist, is much quieter now. Nicholas Herrera’s upcoming exhibition Corazón y Alma closes out our holiday season with an impassioned display of heart-shaped wall sculptures, created in his primitive folk art style. Corazón y Alma, Spanish for Heart and Soul, opens on Friday, December 29th from 5-7pm at the gallery.Nicholas has donated countless pieces of art so that organizations, nonprofits and public programs as well as personal friends in need, may benefit by the sale or auctioning of his artwork. He has made numerous donations to museums worldwide as an effort to unify people and cultures. He continues to assist the local moradas and churches with restorations and renovations of religious artwork.

Selected Awards and Honors: Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, New Mexico, 2016 National Folk Art Society, National Award of Distinction, 2006

Selected Collections: Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, NM

American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY American History Art Museum, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC DePaul University Museum, Chicago, IL El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY Espanola Convento Museum, Espanola, NM Flatwater Folk Art Museum, Brownsville, NE Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO Gene Autry Museum of American Heritage, Los Angeles, CA Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM Herberger College of Fine Arts, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ La Inglesia de Ojo Caliente Museum, Ojo Caliente, NM Longwood Center for the Visual Art, Farmville, VA Luce Foundation Center for American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM Museum of American Folk Art, New York, NY Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts, Santa Fe, NM National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL Price Tower Arts Center, Bartlesville, OK Regis University Collection of New Mexican Santos, Denver CO Ross Art Museum, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH San Andrea Della Valle Theatine General House, Rome, Italy Sangre De Cristo Art Center, Pueblo, CO Santa Fe Children’s Museum, Santa Fe, NM Sheldon Museum of Arts, Lincoln, NE Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC The Southern Ohio Museum, Kenny Galleries, Portsmouth, OH Spanish Colonial Art Society Collection, Santa Fe, NM Taylor Museum, Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Colorado Springs, CO The Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL The Terra Foundation of American Art, Paris, France University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE William and Ann Oppenheimer Collection, Richmond, VA

Still Pumping at 53, hand carved wood, natural pigments, mixed media, 22 x 23 x 12

$7,200

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El Mano de Corazon, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 22 x 20 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$2,000

Por el Amor de Dios, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 26 x 25

$2,500

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St. Valentina, hand carved wood, mixed media, 27 x 26 x 5 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$2,800

Rosas de Corazon, hand carved wood, natural pigments, mixed media, 29 x 21 x 3

$2,800

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Keep on Knockin’ But You Can’t Come In, hand carved wood, mixed media, 27 x 21 x 4 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$2,500

Corazon de Cartucho, hand carved wood, mixed media, 25 x 22 x 3.5

$2,500

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Key to My Heart, hand carved wood mixed media, 25 x 22 x 3 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$2,500

Corazon de Finta, hood of a 1947 Dodge, 26 x 21 x 5

$2,500

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La Cruz de mi Alma, hand carved wood mixed media, 38 x 26.25 x 5.5 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$2,800

Descanso, hand carved wood mixed media, 44 x 25 x 4

$2,800

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Corazรณn Rebelde, hand carved wood, natural pigments, mixed media, 9.5 x 5.5 x 4.25 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$1,800

Mi Amor, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 7 x 4 x 3.5

$800

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El Corazón d’Oro, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 7.75 x 6.25 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$300

El Corazón Azul, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 6.25 x 6.5

$300

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El Corazรณn de Dolor, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 6.75 x 6 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$300

Llaves di mi Corazón, hand carved wood mixed media, 10 x 10

$800

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Santuario retablo, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 9.5 x 10.5 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$400

Sgraffito Skull, handcarved wood with natural pigments, 7 x 7.25

$300

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Cristo, handcarved wood w natural pigments, 25 x 11 x 1 CLICK TO PURCHASE

$900

Nuestra de Senora de Guadalupe, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 13.5 x 11.5

$700

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Tres Corazónes, hand carved wood with natural pigments, 7.25 x 24 x 6.5

$2,500

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