Mario Almaguer (b. Marianao, Cuba, 1955) He moved to the U.S. in 1994 to Miami where since has been living and working. Essentially self-taught, he embraced sculpture as his mean for expression. Without any kind of formal academic education or training in the arts, perseverance and praxis made him an artist. His work has been influenced by cuban master Agustin Cardenas and british Henry Moore. In his early years until 1994 he produced a large amount of small and medium scale wooden sculptures. From 1994 to the present, Almaguer creates and produces steel sculptures. It's with his works on steel where he encounters a strong expression with a striking liberty hard to deliver in wood. His monumental sculptures were recently exhibited at Miami Dade College, where his colossal pieces are joined to the campus buildings. Almaguer's work is in collections in the U.S. and abroad. He has exhibited in the U.S. and Latin America and is subject of several articles.