Courtesy of Presa House Gallery
Presa House Gallery is pleased to welcome San Antonio native Melissa Gamez Herrera for her Presa House Gallery debut and first solo exhibition in her hometown, Color Code: How It Feels. This exhibition is generously supported by the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture through its 2024 Individual Artists Project Grant Program, The Luminaria Working Artist Fund, and Texas A&M University-San Antonio University Library. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, October 12, 2024, from 7 to 11 pm, with the artist in attendance. The exhibition will be on view by appointment through November 30, 2024.
Color Code: How It Feels is a series of new works created between 2023 and 2024. As a lifelong resident of San Antonio, Herrera delves into the city’s urban landscape and the deep inequalities that persist within its physical structure and society. Who are the “haves” and “have nots”? Why do disparities exist within our landscape? Questions not grappled with in everyday conversations regarding the state of the city. Instead, we blame individuals for their circumstances, never our racist history, environment,and policymakers. Color Code: How It Feels combines photographs, sound, objects, and significant historical text to tell a story about the city’s complicated past and disparities of the present.
Melissa Gamez Herrera (b. 1991) is a San Antonio-based interdisciplinary artist who works with photography, bookmaking, sound, and other cross disciplinary practices. Herrera earned a BA in Art and Art History from Colgate University in 2014 and an MFA in Studio Art Photography from the University of North Texas in 2020. Throughout her creative practice, Herrera pursued the arts through which she speaks on issues of identity, community, and justice. Herrera does this through research of events related to violations of human rights and how art can interpret trauma and create a pathway to collective healing. Herrera is a 2024 City of San Antonio Individual Artist Grantee and a recipient of the Luminaria Working Artist microgrant.
