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Air, Sea in Harmony
Air, Sea in Harmony He recalls that for the most part he had been sculpting sea life when approached by
Roberto Islas and Pat Butler in 2004. He had never done representations of people,
Unlike paintings, sculptures are three-dimensional especially not of the size and magnitude of project
art, allowing you to view them from all angles. That is Caras de Mexico, 20 human size figures represent-
the vision of the man behind the sculptures at the El Do- ing different subjects. And so he set his focus to
masterpices
rado Ranch’s Caras de Mexico Golf Course, Mexican the challenge of producing these master pieces.
Sculpture Octavio Gonzales, perhaps the most sought Although he has branched out more in the realm of
after and prolific sculpturist in Mexico. The pculiarity human figures, he feels his legacy is still the ocean,
peculiarity
of his work is based precisely on concept and bal- he confesses that all of his works are his favorite,
ance. “The vast majority of the sculptures I make are “but the special one is the whale because it means
in the air, because I think and feel that life is harmony.” a lot to me. I made it out of love and in honor of
Since he was little, Octavio was a lover of nature and had the gift of art, however, when my daughter and all the women in the world. The
his father died he had to work hard, but the artist who lived in him had to be set free and meaning has to do with the fact that women are the
the adventure of sculpting began. His column of society and the family, the one who maintains balance and equilibrium.” The
influences also come from his travels piece has been placed in the port since 2001.
around the world, from destinations So whether you are walking around El Dorado’s Golf course or touring Puerto Vallarta
such as: Moscow, Warsaw, Vienna, or other site’s hosting Octavio’s work, you will definitely see his vision of Harmony.
Czech Republic, Holland, Belgium
and San Francisco, where his interest
in marine themes was awakened. He
has participated in cultural exchanges
in Santa Barbara and Berkeley, Cali-
fornia where he learned casting tech-
niques such as ceramic shell, a style
which gives the sculpture much better
details and is a lot lighter than other techniques. He has lived in Puerto Vallarta for 39
years. Many of his great works are exhibited in this city, among them, “The Dolphin Fountain”
his most representative work, “Ballena Vallarta,” which is a 12-meter humpback whale
that is placed at the entrance to Marina Vallarta. There are other sculptures such as
a sailboat in front of Marina del Rey, another sailboat in Nuevo Vallarta and a blue
whale in Marina Vallarta in front of Portofino, among others.” His work is sold all
over the United States. Octavio en-
dorses the great work team he has,
“without them I would not be who I
am.” 11 people work with me, “they
are like my family.” He also high-
lights that he is the fastest sculptor
in Mexico, “there are sculptures
that we have made, such as those
of life-size horses in San Miguel el
Alto?, Jalis- co, we made them in 45
days, modeled, cast and delivered.
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