CARMEN HERRERA @ THE WHITNEY

"I began a lifelong process of purification, a process of taking away what isn't essential." --Carmen Herrera

Carmen Herrera is a Cuban American artist, and her work is the focus of an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art which opens today in New York City.  When I began investigating her work, I found that there is a lot to learn from the 101-year-old artist, who was a pioneer of Geometric Abstraction.  She has said that her "quest is for the simplest of pictorial resolutions", which struck me as a valuable way to approach art as well as life.

I made a dress inspired by her painting Green and Orange from 1958.  It was surprisingly refreshing to work on something so direct, and it was fun to mix colors to emulate Herrera's palette.

Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight opens to the public today, and is on view until January 2, 2017.

Photos by Sarah Meller.