This piece, titled Nature, is by Juan Quintanilla.
In December of 2010, the city of Santiago de Cuba held its first Rene Valdes Cedeño Public Sculpture Symposium. Sponsored by the Caguayo Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Development of Public Sculptures and Monuments, the symposium seeks to promote sculpting in marble and metals. Nature was a result of the Symposium, the pieces that came out of the project were put around Santiago de Cuba.
Juan Quintanilla studied at the School of Visual Arts in Pinar del Rio in 1965. He went on to get a graduate degree in Sculpture from the National Art School in 1967. In 1973 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Praque and spent the year of 1989 studying at Pietro Tacca Institute in Carrara, Italy.
When asked about the marble of Cuba he answered (this is a rough translation)
“In our country we have different qualities of marble. I have only worked with the Siboney Grey Isla de la Juventud, but I have also made inroads into the green and black of Pinar del Río, and the cream and pink orchid of Bayamo, both high quality marbles. There are many others, but these are the ones that I most identify with. I think it is also a way to promote Cuban marble. Many people do not know you could do these sculptures in marble and have been surprised to some to see how a piece can bring out the different qualities.”
