The Versatility and Lure of Wood
By Erin Goodwin-Guerrero
Sam Hernandez was born in the Bay Area and got his BA at Hayward State. In 1974 he received his MFA in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and began to teach on the college level at East Texas State University. When he arrived in the South Bay area in the late 70s, and began teaching at Santa Clara University, he brought a buzz with him. His work was unlike anything else going on around here and he was young and already had a promising career on the burner. His sculpture was abstract and expressionistic, with energetic and free forms springing from wood. It had a conversation with the currents of sculpture in the much more established North Bay art community where artists like William Wiley and Robert Hudson were painting their works, playing in a light hearted vein, and exercising a wry humor. Hernandez’ career has been highlighted by such honors as an NEA Grant and Fulbright Fellowship and many years service as Chair of the Santa Clara University Art Department. Now a resident of Santa Cruz, and still teaching at SCU, Hernandez continues his exploration of the sculptural forms that have always driven him.

Sam Hernandez’ Top Mounter from the 80s, evoking the figure with humor
Hernandez is prolific. He acknowledges and celebrates certain fundamentals of wood. He has executed his series in varied scale. Hernandez has played wood against metal, natural surfaces against painted and color-washed surfaces, milled work against naturally occurring forms and the figurative or organic against the geometric. The work has mostly maintained a vertical orientation that often evokes the figure. Through nearly forty years of work, he has referenced art historical styles such as African art, naive art and cubism that fold easily into the forms he hews. There has been humor, a parody of art history and a charming playfulness.

Sam Hernandez’ The Way of the Intercepting Fist, 2009 at William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe
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