Final Thoughts - Stan Herd

Throughout Stan Herd’s Retrospective show, hanging in the Cider Gallery, Herd reflects and ruminates on his last forty years as an artist. Herd, however, has always used looking back as a tool to fuel his artwork.

While many are familiar with Stan Herds famous earthwork pieces, his environmental work is just a piece of a patchwork within Herd’s artistic creation. Countless sketches and drawings form the backbone of any Herd project. After the earthwork, this process continues. While Stan Herd moves forward into the next project, he utilizes drawings, prints, and paintings to reflect on previous ones. Each piece takes a previous project and reimagines it in a different style or a different perspective. Through the creative process, Herd considers the strength of an earthwork, then flips it on its head. 

Unlike many artists, Stan Herd never just looks forward or stays in the past. Instead, Herd works within both realms simultaneously. Through this ruminatory creation, Herd allows past inspiration to influence current work and break up the monotony of a single project. He spends more time with the subject matter that once inspired him, while chasing future inspiration that feels similar. Throughout the Cider Gallery, these pieces surround one another. Drawings and paintings created during the inspiration phase are paired with those created in rumination. By walking the halls, the viewer gets a unique glimpse of Herd’s process from start to finish.

Sarah Jane "SJ" Dahms