Article

Your Tour of Latinx Artists at the National Gallery

2 min read
A woman is shown from behind in a white dress with a black sweater hanging over her shoulders. She stands looking towards two abstract paintings hanging on a white wall. A two piece vibrant yellow painting hangs to the left. On the right is a painting with two triangles of kelly green one of which is inverted so they meet in the middle of the canvas. The remaining left and right of the canvas is a solid white.

On this page:

  1. East Building
  2. Sculpture Garden

Use our guide to explore works by Latinx artists on view in our galleries.

Discover how they’ve addressed histories, represented communities, and honored traditions through their works.

Take this guide with you through the galleries. You will need a map. Pick one up at any information desk.

Estimated time for the tour: 45 minutes

East Building

This painting shows two large, bright green triangles at the top and bottom edges of the canvas, their points meeting in the center, creating an hourglass shape. Surrounding the triangles is empty white space.
Carmen Herrera, Untitled, 2013, acrylic on canvas, Gift of Funds from Glenstone Foundation and David M. Rubenstein, 2022.18.1

Carmen Herrera, Untitled

Carmen Herrera studied art and architecture in Havana, Cuba, before moving to New York City in 1939. Living there and in Paris, Herrera developed a distinct style of crisp and vividly colorful paintings. But the artist was nearly 90 years old before art world recognized her vision, which included bringing her paintings into three dimensions.

This work is part of a series of green and white paintings entitled "Blanco y Verde" (White and Green). The artist once said that painting works in green and white is "like saying yes and no.” She experimented with the colors and triangular shapes for decades. This painting, made in 2013, is one of the last from that series.

Upper Level, Gallery 406-A

 

This is a painting of abstract, horizontal, vaguely human figures within a series of clear rectangular sections against a light teal background. Thin white lines give the appearance of three rectangular containers stacked atop one another, each with a human-like figure laying horizontally in it. The figures are indistinct and made up of horizontal shapes in a light tan color, with areas of dark brown on the left side of each figure that suggest dark hair. The teal background is visible through the clear containers. The brushstrokes are thick and visible, and the different areas of color blur and overlap in places.
Dino Aranda, Three Figures, 1968, acrylic on canvas, Gift of Werth V. Zuver, 2019.101.1

Dino Aranda, Three Figures (Tres Figuras)

In Three Figures (Tres Figuras), Dino Aranda depicts three abstracted human bodies in coffin- or cage-like forms. The painting is part of a haunting series he made in response to the murder of students during the Somoza dictatorship. The Somoza family ruled the artist’s native Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979.

Aranda played a key role in establishing Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, as a center of Latin American art in the 1960s. In 1965, he moved to Washington, DC, to study at the Corcoran School of Art. There, Aranda cofounded Fondo del Sol Visual Arts Center. The gallery presented the work of Latin American and Latinx artists, organizing traveling exhibitions across the United States and Mexico.

Upper Level, Gallery 407

 

Sculpture Garden

This is a tall, abstract and geometric sculpture with a sharp, angular bend near the bottom. It looks like a thin rectangular shape with some triangular chunks removed from it. The sculpture is made of a weathered reddish-brown material with some areas of darker brown discoloration, and it appears to have a matte finish. The sculpture is standing on a grassy landscape surrounded by trees against a clear blue sky.
Alfredo Halegua, America, 1970, cor-ten steel, Donated in memory of Andre Lovell Roberts, 1894-1971, 1977.28.1

Alfredo Halegua, America

Alfredo Halegua initially didn’t name this 25-foot sculpture. Nearly two decades after its creation, he added the title America, which is inspired by the form of the work. Halegua said that the bend near its base reminded him of something that grew with great difficulty at first, but resulted in “something positive”—like the United States.

The Washington, DC–based sculptor, born in Uruguay, creates large-scale abstract sculptures using materials like steel and metal. He focuses on geometric abstraction and on the two-dimensionality of lines and forms. The artist has experimented for decades with clean lines, sharp angles, and negative space. Halegua’s public artworks are on view across the United States.

Southeast Quadrant

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