Mariposas 

Edgar Negret created this painted aluminum sculpture, Mariposas, as part of a wider artistic output from the mid-20th to the early 21st century. Negret was part of a generation of Latin American artists who responded to global developments in modernist art. He spent the 1950s in New York, where he encountered abstract expressionism. He soon began to produce welded metal sculptures. Mariposas means butterflies in Spanish, and the sculpture, made of angular metal components, does suggest the outstretched wings of insects. However, the materials and construction also reflect the impact of American industrialization on the artist. The result is a visual language that is both modern and Latin American. The artist is making a commentary on the culture of his time. To understand Negret's work fully, research into the social and economic history of Latin America during the 20th century is invaluable. It is through the study of art that we can learn more about the world.