The “Wings of the City” sculpture installation at Fresno State’s campus made its debut last August, but Jorge Marín’s sculptures come alive during the winter solstice when the sun’s low rays mingle with gray skies and the landscape takes on a sepia hue. As the campus trees thin out, they offer a clearer view of the monumental winged figures—fallen demigods and angels flying too close to the ground¹ —rendered in bronze.
Last month, with my camera, sketchbook, and portable stool in hand, I ventured to the campus at sunrise to engage with the pieces in the quiet, contemplative light of a winter morning. As I did so, the powerful intersection of art, nature, and the human spirit deeply moved me. Surrounded by the sculptures’ graceful forms, I reflected on the connection between the works and their campus setting—an open space for learning and creativity that Fresno State freely shares with the community.
As I sketched and photographed the winged monuments, I was reminded of the profound potential of public art — to not just provide art to anyone who wishes to experience it but also inspire creation in the community. This is not simply a collection of sculptures open to all; it’s an invitation to all to interact with art in a meaningful way, to use it as an entry point into the ongoing dialogue between the art, the viewer, and the world around us. Through this sculpture walk, I realized that the true gift of this installation is not just the chance to observe but also to create and add my small, learning voice to the conversation.
Sculpture Walk: Wings of the City
Each sculpture in Wings of the City at Fresno State’s campus offers a unique exploration of the human form and spirit and its intersection with the natural world. The varying expressions of strength, balance, vulnerability, and transformation, each inviting a different introspective response, struck me as I engaged with these pieces.
At the south end of the exhibit, a striking winged soldier crouches, poised for action. His defiant posture and shifting facial expressions—challenging from the front, introspective from the side—drew me into a dialogue about human potential. Depending on perspective, his gaze seemed to capture the tension between readiness and restraint.
The figure of a gymnast, perfectly balanced atop a globe, evokes humanity’s potential and its destructive tendencies. The striking 90-degree angle and the pointed mask, reminiscent of plague doctor masks, inspired a sense of ironic fragility. The acrobat’s precarious balance embodies the delicate equilibrium we strive to maintain—poised between greatness and collapse.
This incomplete winged figure in a crouching pose conveys a sharp contrast between the body and wings. The fragmentary body—its face and limbs dissolving, apparently ravaged by time—speaks to mortality, and while the wings imply a transformation. I was particularly fascinated by the figure’s eyes, which offer different perspectives depending on where you stand, reinforcing the idea that time’s impact on us is relative.
Inspired by the Perseids, the meteor shower named for Perseus and the idea of “falling stars”, this figure, also balanced on an orb, exudes a relaxed, almost contemplative energy. The angel’s resting posture, wings slightly outstretched, suggests moments of recovery before the next great feat. It felt as if the figure was both an athlete recovering from a battle and an archangel observing the Earth below. The celestial quality of the piece evokes in me a sense of cosmic solitude, as if suspended between the divine and the earthly.
The most emotionally charged of the works, this sculpture captures an intimate, almost sacred embrace between a winged figure and a human woman. The tender connection feels like a moment of solace amidst exhaustion, its grand scale amplifying its emotional depth. The figures called to mind Michelangelo’s…