1. Rafael Consuegra was a Cuban-born American sculptor and ceramist who worked in the United States and Europe.
17 Facts About Rafael Consuegra
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Rafael Consuegra left the island in 1960 and established residence in Miami, Florida, where he began his studies in architecture and engineering.
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Rafael Consuegra quickly developed a reputation as a ceramist and sculptor, and exhibited widely throughout France, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Russia and Serbia.
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Rafael Consuegra then received a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Miami in 1971.
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Rafael Consuegra later taught as an art instructor in both Miami Dade College and Barry University.
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Rafael Consuegra has had multiple solo exhibitions in Miami, including shows at educational institutions such as Miami Dade College in 1970 and 2006, Barry University in 1971, and Florida International University in 1973.
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Rafael Consuegra did a show in Boston's Northeastern University in 2007 titled "Freedom Birds" and had other shows in Chicago, New York City, Athens, Georgia, and Puerto Rico.
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Rafael Consuegra won several awards for his art, including the Miami Art Center's Award for Sculpture in 1967, the University of Miami's Hanson Award in 1968 and Helen Banks Memorial Award in 1969, the Cintas Foundation Fellowship in both 1972 and 1973, among others.
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Rafael Consuegra was commissioned to produce numerous public artworks, and won a nationwide competition to represent the United States in an arts exchange program between the sister cities, Duluth, Minnesota, and Petrozavodsk, Russia.
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Rafael Consuegra's winning sculpture, The Fishermen, is located in Petrozavodsk and is symbolic in nature, with the two fishermen representing the unity of the two sister cities.
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Rafael Consuegra produced sculptures for the Milander Recreational Complex of Hialeah that were installed in 2015.
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In 2020 Rafael Consuegra was commissioned by real estate developer and impact glass magnate Sam Moussa to create an abstract original metal sculpture for his private residence Aqua Azure.
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Rafael Consuegra's sculptures are known for their dynamic elements that give a sense of motion to metal, his preferred medium.
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Rafael Consuegra's painted work shows strong architectural influence and tends to be abstract and highly geometric.
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Rafael Consuegra died on September 17,2021, one day following his 80th birthday, of a heart attack.
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Rafael Consuegra was a founder of the Bird Road Arts District in the 1980s, where his studio was among the first to establish itself before the area was officially designated an arts district.
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Rafael Consuegra was a key figure in the Permuy Gallery, one of the first Cuban art galleries in the United States, and assisted the Permuys in preparing the venue for its launch.