Tony Lopez is my best new friend. He is a master sculptor of the first degree. Another cuban-american we can be very proud of. An art-soldier to honor and a charming senior citizen.
You've probably seen his definitive master work and not realized it. Tony is the creator of the monumental bronze 'hand of angst', the center-piece of the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach.
Among the other notable sculptures is a life-size full-body bronze of Claude Pepper, Jose Marti, Christopher Columbus, religious icons, hilarious caricatures and awesome abstracts. He does it all the old fashioned way, with a swampstyle reserved for creative originators and master craftspeople.
Tony has been around the world twice, works everyday at his studio in wynwood and will not go north for the winter snow. Sadly today he is floundering in the oblivion of the silver years, comfortable but forgotten. Like so much of what matters, cast aside by a culture of youth oriented naivete that distracts us from our treasures with the lure of shiny new things.
The Mrs. with pet rooster,
Jose Marti ponders the artist dilemma.
Tony is a family friend and like an uncle to me since I was a child. Tremendous talent.
ReplyDeleteHere's a photo I took of him with Espy and the rooster ..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pancier/251971286/