Praça 25 de Abril, Lisboa 

This abstract sculpture was made by Jose de Guimaraes for the Praça 25 de Abril in Lisbon. It is constructed from painted metal, which is not a traditional art material per se, but very much a product of the modern age. The artist has taken advantage of the material's inherent properties like its strength and durability to create these large, bold forms in red, white, and green. You can almost imagine the industrial processes that would have been involved in fabricating this sculpture, from the cutting and welding of the metal sheets to the application of the paint. The material is inextricably linked to broader social themes, in this case, labor, politics, and consumption. The sculpture isn’t hand-carved, or in any other way directly shaped by the artist. Yet this indirect approach is still deeply significant. By embracing industrial materials and production methods, Guimaraes acknowledges and celebrates the social and economic realities of our time, challenging the traditional distinctions between art and the everyday.