Willie Herrón

Biography

Herrón grew up in East Los Angeles and for years had been sketching the world around him. He studied at Otis Art Institute and Art Center College of Design.

In the early 1970s Herrón was founding members of the Los Angeles art collective, Asco, which also included Patssi Valdez, Gronk, and Harry Gamboa, Jr. Herrón and Valdez had been working on joint art projects since they were in high school together and for a time, Valdez and Herron dated. Herron was involved with Asco for about fifteen years.

Herrón's first major exhibition was with Gamboa and Gronk at the Mechicano Art Center in East Los Angeles in 1972. His art was also part of the Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation (CARA) exhibit that toured the United States.

Herrón's murals often incorporate the found imagery of existing graffiti into his own work. One of his most recognized murals, The Wall That Cracked Open was painted in about twelve hours and was an outpouring of his feelings about the violent attack his brother suffered from rival gang members. The imagery used in this mural is influenced by Pre-Columbian themes and invokes the concept of Atzlán. The fact that Herrón includes graffiti is a way of tying together the art of both the mural and of "Chicano graffiti" which he saw as both deserving "mutual respect."

He was a founding member of the punk band, Los Illegals.

He co-owns a commercial design studio.

Herron lends his assistance to struggling artists and those who struggle with their differences in traditional communities. He has been a "representative figure for the underappreciated Chicano and contemporary artist," especially after one of his well-loved murals was whitewashed.

Works