In the human figure, I have discovered the dynamic principles
of the form and rhythm inherent in the metamorphosis of life
The monumentality and the human figure are the determining elements in the work of the Cuban sculptor Manuel Carbonell. Regarded as the last of the great Cuban sculptors, Carbonell formed the generation of Wilfredo Lam and Agustín Cárdenas.
Formed in the National School of Fine Arts of San Alejandro, in his native Cuba, was disciple of the teacher Juan José Sicre.
Its classic and religious period extends between 1945 and 1959 but from 1959 when Carbonell begins his exile in the United States begins to experiment and develop body of work in which emphasize the essence of the form and the absence of details.1
In 1961 New York gallery owner Fred Schoneman invited him to become a guest sculptor at Schoneman Galleries. Then a collaboration that lasted 15 years, during which Carbonell was the only sculptor managed by a gallery that exposed the work of artists like Picasso, Chagall, Braque, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin and Renoir.2
In 1974, Carbonell moved to Miami, where he achieved great success and recognition. His pieces are incorporated into public spaces in Miami and other cities in South Florida. José Martí's statue at the San Carlos Institute of Key West and El Centinela del Rio, a 21-foot monument on the Brickell Bridge, both made at age 70, are his.
The lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Brickell Key features its famous 'Couple in Love' piece while the monumental 'New Generation' is part of Xujianhui Park in Shanghai, China.3
Carbonell died on November 10, 2011 in Coral Gables, Florida.
References
1 Manuel Carbonell. Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Carbonell
2 About Manuel Carbonell
http://carbonellfoundation.com/about-manuel-carbonell.html
3 Fallece en Miami el escultor Manuel Carbonell (12/11/2011)
http://cafefuerte.com/literatura-y-artes-plasticas/1336-fallece-en-miami-el-escultor-manuel-carbonell/