Pablo Serrano creates frail bronze figures that are nevertheless filled with a furtive animation. Viewing himself as creating his own language with the line-like, humanoid forms he creates, what stands out as an essential feature of this language is texture. This allows Serrano to eternally freeze his representations, while still giving them that pockmarked air of something or someone all too used to the pitfalls of experience.

The sculpture Success, for example, shows a figure just before he starts his way up a ladder. The work can be deciphered in two ways. On the one hand, the sculpture could be interpreted allegorically: the figure is just about to embark on his climb to success. On the other, the work could be decoded more humorously. The frailness of the figure —and the texture that also riddles the ladder — could argue that complete success is well nigh impossible. In either case, the sculpture captures the spirit of generous effort in the face of adversity, communicating in plastic terms that it’s better to try and fail than never try at all.

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