Rafael Consuegra — Sculptor · 1941–2021
The Legacy of
RAFAEL
CONSUEGRA
Sculptor · 1941 – 2021
60 years of creativity, passion, and dedication
"The Fishermen" · Petrozavodsk, Russia
The Artist
"A Cuban born, American sculptor who breathed life into lifeless materials."
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Rafael Consuegra was born in Havana, Cuba in 1941. Forced to leave his homeland during the Cuban Revolution, he arrived in Miami in 1960 — carrying with him a restless creative spirit that would define the next six decades of his life.
He attended Miami Dade College and went on to study architecture at the University of Miami before discovering his true calling in the plastic arts. Twice awarded the prestigious Cintas Fellowship from the International Institute of Education in New York, he earned his Master of Fine Arts in 1971.
In 1974, Consuegra made a bold transatlantic move to Barcelona, establishing a studio that became his home base as he exhibited throughout Europe — in Spain, France, Denmark, Switzerland. After eight years abroad, he returned to Miami, where he continued creating until his death in 2021.
His work — spanning ceramic, bronze, metals, glass, wood and mixed media — can be found in private and public collections throughout the world. He was a deeply spiritual man whose love of God and the freedom of the human spirit was evident in every piece he created.
"Consuegra's work is always about the victory over transience and impermanence: every work reaches a point where the energy reaches equilibrium. Some of Consuegra's work is about the path, others about the destination. Some seem more kinetic, others favor form. As one scans a series of his work one feels the scars of turbulence overcome, of emotional ups and downs conquered by appeal to the essential."
Robert Mahoney
Art Critic — Arts, Flash Art, Artnet, TIME OUT New York
Selected Works
A Life in Form
Figurative · Mixed Media · 2016
Impossible Dream
Permanently installed at the Garden of the Arts, City of Hialeah — one of Consuegra's most celebrated public commissions.
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Ceramic · Terracotta ·
A lost friend
A striking figurative bust in terracotta — raw, expressive, and deeply human.
Abstract · Steel · 1979
Pharah
Permanently installed at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts — a commanding presence in steel.
His Legacy
"He accepted all human beings, loved animals, and his love of God and the freedom of the human spirit was evident in all his work."
Over six decades, Consuegra created a body of work that transcends borders, cultures, and time. From Havana to Miami, from Barcelona to the galleries of Europe and the world, his sculptures carry the unmistakable mark of a man who lived fully and created fearlessly.
"An artist is a triangle: heart, mind and hands"
— Rafael Consuegra
60+
Years of Creation
Global
Collections Worldwide
2×
Cintas Fellowship
MFA
University of Miami, 1971