Miguel Berrocal

The first piece of art I can remember buying was a mini puzzle sculpture by Spaniard Miguel Berrocal. I got it from Jim and Adrian Rudolph, who owned Centicore Books in Ann Arbor and were — again if memory serves — Berrocal's first American dealers.

Each of Berrocal's minis included a piece of jewelry. Mine — not the one in the picture — was a woman's torso, and her breasts were the pair of pale gray stones set into a silver ring built into the puzzle. The sculpture came with a hardcovered book of diagrams showing how to take it apart and put it together, and when Jim and Adrian brought Berrocal to Ann Arbor for a visit, I had him sign my copy.

I lost my Berrocal in my move back to the US from Europe. Stupid, really: it was small enough that I could easily have carried it in my pocket.

You can read more about Berrocal and his work here.

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