...In the meanwhile, baby is coming, I'm living... 2003

Ernesto Neto created this enveloping sculpture with fabric, string, and, well, a whole lot of wonder. There’s a kind of generosity to Neto’s work, a real invitation to soften, to feel held. This piece is all about gentle curves, fleshy forms that seem to breathe and hang in space. The materials feel soft, the colors are muted, and everything is about touch and sensation. Look at the way the fabric sags and stretches, creating these plump, organic shapes. It’s like the whole thing is alive, in a state of constant becoming. The title gives a clue, right? “…In the meanwhile, baby is coming, I’m living…” It’s a work about life, about the body, and about transformation. Neto reminds me a little of Eva Hesse. Both create works that are incredibly sensitive to material and form. But while Hesse's sculptures often have a melancholy edge, Neto's feel more playful, more open. Art, in the end, is about conversation, about feeling our way through the world, one shape at a time.