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39 F ew more fitting examples of this exist than in the work of internationally exhibited Javier Marín, Mexico City–based sculptor who makes his Texas debut this month at Art of the World Gallery in Houston. While comparisons have been made between Marín and Rodin, it is Mannerist master Jacopo Pontormo that the artist himself most identifies with — if not for Pontormo's contorted figures than for his dra- matic strength, two elements that shine in Marín's ouevre. As Dallas Museum of Art director Agustín Arteaga writes in his 2001 essay, "Back to the Pedestal," of Marín: "The surprising thing about this insolent and subversive young sculptor is that he sails against the current … He cynically returns to the origins of classical sculpture, setting out from that point, immediately upsetting it, manneristically … With striving and spirit, he managed to put sculpture back up on its pedestal … and reactivated the pendulum of art history." No doubt, this observation is a keen lesson in philosophy — not just as to how we should view art, but how we should define beauty within ourselves. "Javier Marín: Masterworks" at Art of the World Gallery, Houston, January 16 – March 16, artoftheworldgallery. com