132 - RAÚL ABAD (Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 1972).

RAÚL ABAD (Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 1972). “The Challenge,” 2015. Carved and polished white marble. Measurements: 40 × 31 × 21 cm. Particularly representative of Raúl Abad’s technical mastery of marble carving, *The Challenge* explores the tension between the solidity of the stone and the pursuit of a light, organic, and dynamic form. The composition unfolds through continuous volumes that seem to fold and wrap around one another, creating a figure open to different interpretations depending on the viewer’s perspective. The treatment of the surface is essential: the polish visually softens the hardness of the marble and allows light to travel across the sculpture’s curves, crevices, and planes. Abad himself has described this work as a challenge between the imagined form and the physical resistance of the stone, seeking to transform the material’s rigidity into a sense of movement. The high quality of the craftsmanship is evident precisely in the visual continuity of the contours, which allows a compact material to take on an almost fluid appearance. Raúl Abad’s career has centered on sculpture, alternating between figurative work and abstract explorations, and working primarily with materials such as marble, stone, and bronze. From a young age, his training was closely linked to his family’s stone workshop, a circumstance that explains the prominent role of direct knowledge of the material in his work. In 2014, he presented the exhibition *Sentidos* at the Centre d’Artesania de la Comunitat Valenciana. Notable among his public commissions are the bust of Severiano Ballesteros, installed in Pedreña in 2012, and the Monument to the Dockworker of the Port of Valencia, unveiled in 2023.