Milky Way (Sisyphus Part I)

Milky Way (Sisyphus Part I) is the inaugural work in Marius Ritiu's Sisyphus series, a body of sculptures that explores endurance, transformation and the relationship between human labour and the immensity of the cosmos. Monumental in scale and hand-hammered from copper, the sculpture evokes a colossal meteorite or celestial fragment that appears to have descended into the gallery space, collapsing the distance between geological time and cosmic space. Despite its immense presence, the work retains the intimate evidence of its making, with every hammer mark preserved across its surface as a record of countless repetitive gestures. These traces of labour echo the myth of Sisyphus, where persistence becomes not merely an act of repetition but a means of shaping meaning through continuous effort. The title, Milky Way, expands this narrative beyond the earthly, inviting viewers to consider the sculpture as both a physical mass and a fragment of the universe itself, suspended between the familiar and the unknowable. Its shimmering copper surface captures and transforms light, shifting with the viewer's movement and suggesting a landscape in constant evolution. Through the fusion of meticulous craftsmanship, monumental form and cosmological imagination, Milky Way (Sisyphus Part I) becomes a meditation on humanity's desire to comprehend the infinite, revealing that the smallest repeated gesture can resonate on the scale of galaxies.