The Ball No. 2 1971

Agustin Cardenas made this marble sculpture, “The Ball No. 2”. Look at how he coaxed this form into being! Can you see a face with its mouth slightly ajar? I can almost hear it sigh, can’t you? I wonder, what does it mean to take something as solid as stone, and carve from it a shape that feels so soft, so vulnerable? I can imagine Cardenas working away, day after day, slowly revealing the hidden forms, the delicate curves. Like he’s uncovering a secret language already there within the stone itself. The cool, smooth texture of the marble would feel so nice in your hands, as would the gentle swells of the "lips" formed beneath the ball shape. You could trace it forever. I’m reminded of Henry Moore, another sculptor interested in natural forms, and how he found ways to reveal a sense of inner life within inanimate materials. So much so, that you'll find yourself discovering something new each time you come back to look. And isn't that the whole point?