Honor, admiration and distinguished splendor define not only Gloria Hernando’s name but also her work, Latin for Glory. The Miami based artist’s collections evoke these characteristics with her bold expressions that awakens inner strength. Having partnered with Saks Fifth, Danielle Bernstein of WeWoreWhat and Chevrolet, Gloria’s grabbing the art world by its horns. We chatted with the budding artist to discuss her work, the changing landscape of Miami and the upcoming Miami Art Week.
Was art always a passion of yours?
Absolutely, art is really a part of me. I’ve been very inclined to it since I was a child. I did go through a very interesting route to get to where I am now. I was really interested in a broad variety of industries, so I decided to get into architecture and interior design for a couple of years.
I studied those two things and I ended up working as an interior designer for a couple of years. Then I went into fashion marketing and PR and all along that journey art was calling me.
I eventually moved to Spain. I was there for about a year focusing on finding out what was driving me and that’s where I started drawing the bull. The bull is my signature symbol. It’s the emblem of what I do. Little by little it has grown and I feel more alive through the art than anything I’ve done in the past.
The beautiful thing about being where I am now is that I get to work with a lot of interior designers and architects so it is a really interesting perspective that I offer through my work.
With a background in architecture and design how do you reflect that in your art?
That’s really reflected in the technical aspect of my work because whenever I start a piece, I don’t just start dabbling with what comes to my mind. I do a lot of research. Every single detail in all my pieces mean something and they all play a part into the greater composition.
That’s something I’ve learned to do a lot in design, to develop a concept. Each piece tells a story whether it’s about something I’ve experienced or somebody else experienced and I’m communicating it through art.
Why do you think Miami attracts such a huge art fanbase?
I’m really excited about what the art scene is becoming here. When I was growing up it was very different. [It was] more about outsiders and famous people and the city is doing something different in that it’s really starting to highlight the people from Miami and more so the people that are emerging.
What we’re doing as artists we’re helping the city grow because we’re bringing color we’re bringing really positive conversations. People are coming to the city and they’re really inspired with the murals, inspired by all the galleries. They’re buying artists that aren’t famous and that is an important aspect of the industry here, making Miami more colorful than it was before.
What are some events occurring during Miami Art Week that you’re looking forward to?
What is the inspiration behind “Running of the Bulls”?
I’m a Taurus, that’s my zodiac sign. I was reading about that casually right as I moved to Spain. In Spain you see it everywhere. It’s part of their culture. It’s something that an entire country has identified with.
So, I really started researching the animal. The more I started researching, the more I became passionate about it because the animal is so important to human civilization, since prehistoric times. A lot of cave drawings have the bull larger than the people.
It’s really an inspiring and positive animal and the way that I’ve grown to become that animal is to really harness the power within us. People that are scared, people that are holding back, it is to realize that we all have the bull within us.
We’re all capable of finding what drives us, what moves us forward. To hold onto that power, that strength, that is what my art is about. It’s about inspiring, it’s about motivating what’s already within you.
Do you have a favorite version of the “Running of the Bulls”?
I don’t know if I have a favorite one, but one of the most special ones is the first one that I did [Eastern Expression]. What makes it so special is that one first piece, it almost automatically opened up my mind. I have an entire sketch book filled with ideas of that bull which all developed with that one piece. It really grew me into the artist that I am.
Do you have any exciting collaborations coming up?
I do have another collaboration with Saks, they’ve actually really really loved everything that I’ve done with them in the past year. I’ll be doing an event with Chevrolet again. With Prismacolors we are working on ideas because my main working materials is Prismacolors, it’s what I’ve been using since I was a child. So that’s going to be very special.
With your collection, Horizons, you play with the sky and sea, which could be assumed as an inspiration from Miami’s landscape. How has Miami inspired other works of yours?
It’s inspired it a lot. If you look at the main body of work that I’ve done, a lot of the colors I use they’re in this beautiful city. There’s a lot of greens, there’s a lot of blues. I’ll use pops of red which remind me of Miami in some shape or form.
Each piece has a very natural element to it whether it’s the cactus, or the roses, or the water. Whether it’s loud or hidden, each piece of mine definitely has to do with Miami. I was born and raised in the city and that is part of who I am. I’m expressing something that comes from inside and it’s going to show. Miami is going to come out one way or another.
What can you share about your new project being released early next spring, Elementa ?
I’m so excited about Elementa. Elementa is really exciting because it is 2.0 of Latin for Glory. Every piece is so much bigger, so much more intense. The concept itself, which I don’t want to reveal too much about, is really engaging to a classical concept and making it really modern.
It’s focused on the bull but in a very different language. Everything I’ve done has been very playful, very intricate and this is going to be very deep.
