By Bonnie Gangelhoff
For California sculptor Cecilia Miguez, life is a journey, and her life’s work is about conveying this idea through her art. Her whimsical sculptures portray human forms, often in motion or engaged in a physical activity. They tango. They ski. And they fish. As an artist Miguez is also concerned with traveling machines such as boats, bikes, wheels, and anything that relates to movement or change. Viewers often find moveable parts on her pieces that display her tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Lately, for example, she is creating pieces concerned with man’s attempt to fly. Her figures bear wooden wings and bulky parachutes.
“They are about impossible but fun attempts to fly,” Miguez says. “Some of the pieces feel like they are more attached to the earth because of all the equipment they have.” Miguez creates pieces from a variety of materials, including bronze, wood, iron, and leather. But what may intrigue viewers about her works is the artist’s inspired use of found objects. Miguez incorporates everything from Japanese boxes to rusted keys into her sculptures. “I am really talking about the human experience and what it feels like to be me and what it feels like to be human,” she says.
Miguez is represented by Tirage Fine Art Gallery, Pasadena, CA; Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA; and Buschlen Mowatt Galleries, Palm Desert, CA.
Featured in “Artist to Watch” July 2004