A winged angel holds a dying woman. Though her eyes are closed, she is still alive, as in desperation one arm clings tightly to the angel. His expression is a complex mixture of sadness at her anguish and perhaps of resignation as to the inevitability of death, while showing his concentration on the comfort that his arms can offer.

The wings are magnificent in their detailing, yet he chooses not to fly but to offer what solace he can. And we sense that he knows that it is not enough. It is a heart-breaking metaphor for the human condition.

While abstract art can inspire or intrigue or awe or terrify or delight, it usually cannot involve a viewer deeply in its emotional power or create a sense of identification or of unity with the art.

Such is not the case with the works of Jorge Marín, whose "Wings of the City" installation at Discovery Green has nine sculptures scattered throughout its premises. Some of the sculptures are powerful, some playful, some enigmatic, but all are filled with a love for and an appreciation of humanity that is breathtaking and admirable. Though they represent a higher order of being -- most are winged -- they have retained their humanity.

I found most moving Abrazo Monumental (abrazo is Spanish for "embrace"), the pietà-like sculpture of the angel and woman. Abrazo Monumental is one of six warrior sculptures, the most powerful of these being Archi-valdo, at the northwest corner of Discovery Green. The figure here is the most heavily muscled, squatting on a globe in the position favored by gargoyles. His hands and feet are placed together on the globe, thickly veined. He is an example of manhood at its finest. He wears a mask, and I took him to be the leader of the band of angels, serving here as a sentinel ready to warn the city if danger approached.

I felt safer for his presence, as it is clear that these winged figures are benevolent and on our side, not the angel Lucifer fallen from Heaven. Angel Perselidas is also winged, with a skullcap and a hawk mask. He stands perched on a globe, perhaps resting from a long and arduous journey. Both hands here seem relaxed, at ease. I sensed that he, too, was a sentinel, but off duty at the moment.