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Left: Carmen Herrera, Equation, 1958, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 42 inches, Collection of Stanley Stairs and Leslie Powell, New York. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, © Estate of Carmen Herrera

Right: Leon Polk Smith, Okie, 1957, oil on canvas, diameter: 31 1⁄4 inches, Leon Polk Smith Foundation. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, photo: Mark Waldhauser, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation

Both Sides of the Line

Carmen Herrera and Leon Polk Smith
Guest Curator: Dana Miller
August 30, 2025 — January 4, 2026
Taubman I Gallery

The Decades-long Friendship That Shaped Modern Art

Both Sides of the Line: Carmen Herrera and Leon Polk Smith brings together the groundbreaking work of Carmen Herrera and Leon Polk Smith—neighbors, friends, and pioneers of geometric abstraction. Despite forging a creative dialogue that spanned decades, their work has never been presented side-by-side at this scale, until now.

Through more than 45 works, including paintings, works on paper, and three-dimensional objects, this exhibition examines the dynamic relationship between Herrera’s crisp lines and bold colors and Smith’s sweeping curves and expansive forms. Born in Cuba, Herrera navigated an art world that often marginalized her contributions, while Smith, a gay man who was born in Indian Territory, similarly pushed against the boundaries of a system that never fully recognized his work. Their paths, distinct yet parallel, reveal a shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of abstraction in a mid-century art world that too often overlooked them.

Both Sides of the Line explores how these two artists redefined the visual language of modern art. Their perspectives intersect, diverge, and resonate, offering new ways to understand abstraction, identity, and the power of friendship.

Select works on display

Leon Polk Smith, "Yellow White Sun 1959", 1958–59, oil on canvas, 78 × 38 inches, Blanton Museum of Art, the University of Texas at Austin, Gift of the Leon Polk Smith Foundation, 2017.20. Image courtesy Blanton Museum of Art, photo: Taryn Mills, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation
Carmen Herrera, "Untitled Estructura (Yellow)", 1966/2016, acrylic and aluminum, 2 parts: 60 × 44 × 5 inches overall, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Gift of funds from Glenstone Foundation and David M. Rubenstein, 2022.18.2. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, © Estate of Carmen Herrera
A color room-divider-like partition with six panels. From left to right the panels are painted with black and white scallops, red and blue mountain shape, a black rounded rectangle on an orange background; teal and yellow waves; a black circle at the top of a white background; and an orange and blue wave.
Leon Polk Smith, "Six Involvements in One", 1966 (recto of "Seven Involvements in One", 1966), acrylic on canvas mounted on wood panel, 6 panels: 86 5/8 × 157 1/2 × 1 5/8 inches overall, Private collection. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation
A color room-divider-like partition with six panels. From left to right the panels are painted with black and white scallops, red and blue mountain shape, a black rounded rectangle on an orange background; teal and yellow waves; a black circle at the top of a white background; and an orange and blue wave.
Carmen Herrera, "Cadmium #4", 1965, acrylic on canvas, 48 × 48 inches, Collection of The Newark Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Feiwel, 1970, 70.87. Image courtesy The Newark Museum of Art, © Estate of Carmen Herrera
Leon Polk Smith, "Okie", 1957, oil on canvas, diameter: 31 1⁄4 inches, Leon Polk Smith Foundation. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, photo: Mark Waldhauser, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation
Carmen Herrera, "Equation", 1958, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 42 inches, Collection of Stanley Stairs and Leslie Powell, New York. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, © Estate of Carmen Herrera
Leon Polk Smith, "Event in Green", 1994, acrylic on canvas, diameter: 58 1⁄4 inches, Leon Polk Smith Foundation. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, photo: Mark Waldhauser, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation
Carmen Herrera, "Diptych", 1978, acrylic on canvas, 50 1/4 × 102 1/2 × 2 1/4 inches overall, Collection of El Museo del Barrio, New York, Gift of Tony Bechara, 1996.P96.9.1a–b. Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio, New York, photo: Martin Seck, © Estate of Carmen Herrera
Leon Polk Smith, "Circle in the Square", 1970, acrylic on canvas, 3 panels: 105 × 35 inches overall, Leon Polk Smith Foundation. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, photo: Mark Waldhauser, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation
Carmen Herrera, "Blanco y Verde", 1960, acrylic on canvas, 48 × 96 inches overall, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2011.27A–B. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, © Estate of Carmen Herrera
Leon Polk Smith, "Constellation S", 1968, acrylic on canvas, 4 panels: 88 × 40 × 1 1⁄8 inches overall, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of the Leon Polk Smith Foundation, 2016/2.420A–D. Photo: Michigan Imaging, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation
Carmen Herrera, "A City", 1949, acrylic on burlap, 48 × 38 inches, Private collection. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, © Estate of Carmen Herrera
Leon Polk Smith, "OK Territory", 1943, oil on canvas, 16 × 12 inches, Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Leon Polk Smith, 2011.12.1. Image courtesy Brooklyn Museum, © Leon Polk Smith Foundation
Carmen Herrera, "Untitled", 1950, acrylic with graphite with cord on burlap, 23 1⁄2 × 41 1⁄2 inches, Collection of Christine Eng, New York. Image courtesy Lisson Gallery, © Estate of Carmen Herrera

SUPPORT

Lead support for this exhibition is provided by Irving Stenn, Jr., Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, Luptak Family Foundation, and University of Michigan Office of the Provost. Additional generous support is provided by the Robert Lehman Foundation. Support for the exhibition catalogue and programming is provided by Lisson Gallery, Tony Bechara and the Leon Polk Smith Foundation.