Statue Dedicated To Pope John Paul II 

This sculpture of Pope John Paul II by Jiménez Deredia is carved from marble. The choice of marble, a material prized throughout the history of Western art, is significant here. Marble has always been associated with permanence, purity, and classical ideals. But consider the physical labor involved in extracting it from the earth, transporting it, and then carving it. The process moves from large scale industrial extraction to the work of the artist. Deredia’s carving process gives the marble a smooth, almost ethereal quality, softening its inherent hardness. This makes the sculpture appear more approachable. But the scale and the material root it in the grand tradition of religious sculpture. Thinking about the labor, the material, and the context allows us to see this artwork as more than just a representation of a religious figure; it becomes a testament to the enduring power of human skill and the stories embedded in materials themselves.