Del marfil al color hígado draws on the symbolic and material legacies of two classical sculptural substances: ivory and bronze. Ivory, with its bone-like tonality and bodily connotations, is paired conceptually with “liver colour” (hígado)—a reference to hepatizon, the reddish patina once applied to bronze in antiquity. The title signals a passage from the inert to the animate, evoking the myth of Pygmalion and the desire to bring form to life.

Developed during Sánchez Sala’s residency at Matadero Madrid, the work stems from an exploration of Saint Lucy’s iconography and the cosmetic as a tool of transformation. Here, makeup functions as a pictorial medium, applied to silk in tones of blush and powder. Light filters through these tinted textiles to illuminate an organic-shaped ivory form, casting a flesh-like hue across its surface. The result is a luminous simulation of incarnation—where bone is made to appear alive through pigment and projection. This interplay of artifice and embodiment positions the work within a broader investigation of truth, perception, and the sculptural illusion of life.