ATALANTE IV / CIRCO PARA EL PUEBLO, woodcut, Irving Herrera 2009

A volcanic portrait of feminine force, printed in scarlet and black — Herrera’s Atalante as a modern combatant.

This searing version of CIRCO PARA EL PUEBLO pushes Irving Herrera’s visual universe into a bolder register. The luchadora figure, bare and unrepentant, stares upward with clenched arms shielding her chest — a gesture equal parts defence, defiance and declaration. The surrounding inscription repeats: QUIERO A OTRA MUJER QUE SEA COMO TÚ — an invocation looping around the body like a spell of solidarity or desire.

Unlike the cooler yellow or blue variants, this one is marked by its red backdrop — a vibrant explosion of floral forms, sharp like blood blossoms, contrasted with the stark black beneath. The composition holds tension between softness and resistance, graphic sharpness and curvilinear carving. Like all Herrera’s pieces in this series, the work evokes sacred imagery without surrendering its bodily or political urgency.

Printed on thick paper, signed and numbered 5/10, this version bears Herrera’s hallmark graphic vocabulary: dense, anatomical linework; ritualistic framing; and a striking balance between indigenous print traditions and radical contemporary figuration.

Technical Sheet

• Object: Woodcut print (framed)
• Title: ATALANTE IV /CIRCO PARA EL PUEBLO
• Artist: Irving Herrera
• Date: 2009
• Technique / Printing Method: Woodcut with screen-printed background
• Medium / Materials: Black and red ink on cotton paper
• Edition: 5/10
• Signed: Yes (pencil, lower left)
• Framing: Black wooden frame with glass
• Dimensions: 112 × 76 cm (sheet)
• Condition: Excellent
• Provenance: Direct from artist’s studio, Oaxaca