See how a renowned sculptor creates plaster casts of community members

The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art is often recognized for sculptures like its copies of David and The Discobolus.

Yet sculptor Rigoberto Torres says museums are also a space where people in the community can be represented through art.

In fact, he says what he loves about lifecasting, which he typically performs in the streets, is the chance to meet the people he casts in plaster, and immerse himself in the various communities he visits.

His work is found in the collections of institutions that include The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and he has been practicing his craft since the late 1970s.

On Aug. 5, the Observer joined Torres in the Ringling Museum's education building as he created a cast of a local woman, Bélen Lopez, for the upcoming exhibition "Nuestro Vaivén (Our Sway)."

Held from Oct. 4, 2025, to March 8, 2026, the exhibition will be the museum's first major exhibition of contemporary Latino art, featuring 22 artists representing 11 Latin American nations.

For some sections, artists have been partnered with community leaders, and Torres, along with local photographer Karen Arango, partners with Ada Toledo, owner of Carmichelle's Hair Design.

On-site at The Ringling, Torres has casted Toledo and four young women, including Lopez, who are her clients, while Arango is contributing recent and childhood portraits of the young women, along with audio interviews.

Torres says people may tell themselves they are "nobody" or "zero," but he notes, "You are in my book, somebody."