(1939-) US sculptor. A leading exponent of the Minimalist school, he is noted for the element of risk present in his precariously balanced sculptures. His signature works of the 1970s–80s are powerful, site-specific sculptures (both outdoor and indoor), built from huge, curving steel plates with rusting surfaces, as in Sight-Point 1971–75 (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam).
Serra made innovative, splashed pieces of molten and rolled lead in the 1960s before graduating in the 1970s to his ingenious constructions of steel plates and rods.

(1713-1784) Spanish missionary and explorer in America. A Franciscan friar, he pursued a missionary career and served in Querétaro 1750–58. He was transferred to Baja California with the expulsion of the Jesuits from Mexico 1767 and in 1969 led a missionary expedition to Alta California. He subsequently established several missions throughout the region.
Born in Majorca, Spain, Serra joined the Franciscan order 1730. After receiving a doctorate in theology, he served on the faculty of the University of Palma 1743–49 before traveling to Mexico City 1750.