Escultura no Hall das Bandeiras da Assembleia Legislativa de Minas Gerais 1988

This sculpture by Amilcar de Castro, made of weathered steel, sits in the Hall of Flags of the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais. There's an openness to the rust and the wear, suggesting an art-making process that's more about letting the material speak. I love the way the steel is cut and bent, creating this arch that's both grounded and reaching upward. The material feels heavy, but the form is light. It's like the sculpture is breathing. The rust, the color of earth and blood, gives it a sense of time and history, of being marked by the elements. If you look closely, you can almost see the artist's hand in the way the metal is shaped, a kind of conversation between maker and material. It reminds me a little of Richard Serra's work, but with a warmer, more human touch. De Castro seems interested in the poetics of form, in how a simple shape can hold so much meaning, and in how a work of art can be both solid and ephemeral, fixed in place and always changing with the light and the weather.