Acebo, Daniel

Movement Is the Fountain from Which Line and Form Spring

Daniel Acebo gathers inspiration for his animal sculptures from nature. With each, he says, he seeks to exemplify the "essence of the animal." Sleek and fluid in their form, his works hint at a subtle influence of Art Deco and the smooth lines of ancient Egyptian sculpture. He believes that, as an artist, sculpting in bronze allows him the freest expressions of movement, while offering structural integrity, strength and durability. In bronze, he captures his animals in an instant of motion. In bronze, he can insure that their beauty, strength and energy endure.

"The Spirit of Exploring Nature Took a Firm Grip on My Soul"

Daniel Acebo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where his parents had emigrated after fleeing from Castro's Cuba in 1960. His parents divorced when he was an infant, and his mother took him and his two older sisters to Miami. It was there that his immersion into the natural world and his abiding love for animals began.

At the age of six, Acebo started diving in the Florida Keys, never knowing whether he would encounter a docile dolphin or a fearsome shark. Regardless of the potential for danger, he adored entering the marine world. "Diving in the ocean is an experience of exploration," he recalls. "The spirit of exploring nature took a firm grip on my soul at a very young age, and it has never let go". My fascination with nature, wildlife, and the ocean became my dominant interest, and therefore guided my activities."

In his teens, Acebo was part of a botanical expedition to the Andes Mountains in Ecuador and also lived in the Amazon River Basin for two months. Through his time in South America, he learned about exotic plant life and the timeless mysteries of nature, as well as the hazards one can face in the wild.

A Prodigy With A Desire to Save the World

Acebo's love of nature prompted him to major in environmental engineering at the University of Florida. In transferring from there to the University of California at Davis, he changed his career plans to study landscape architecture.

Acebo had never even considered expressing himself through art, until he had a vivid dream one night. In it, Acebo was an old man, sculpting by the ocean. He wasn't just sculpting as a pastime, but rather working on a piece with a lifetime of professional sculpting preceding it. He was so struck by the dream, that the very next day, he went out and purchased modeling clay and tools.

The first sculpture Acebo created was of a sea lion&endash;clean, spare, and economical in line and form. Friends and family were dazzled by the work, and the overwhelmingly positive response encouraged him toward further creativity.