Miguel Reynel was born in 1954 in Lima, Peru, and according to his own words, he was born with sculpture and drawing as parts of himself. His progression towards a career in sculpture has not been, however, straightforward; in fact, Miguel formally worked as a general surgeon for more than two decades, until he voluntarily quit medicine to undertake art as a profession in 1998.

In 1981, the same year he graduated as a doctor, Miguel started studying drawing, initially under the sculptress Cristina Gálvez, and after her (Cristina died in 1982), under her foremost follower, the sculptress Margarita Checa, who succeeded to the direction of the Cristina Gálvez Studio. Under the supervision of Margarita Checa, Miguel evolved steadily and almost uninterruptedly for more than nine years –until the day the studio finally closed its doors in 1992– and from her he learned all the basic elements of his art, as he makes it today: a very strong basis on drawing the human figure from nature, with emphasis on the structure of the body; skillful clay modeling, mastering armatures and molds of all kinds; and a long lasting devotion to the lost wax process for bronze casting.

Miguel Reynel's art is inimitable and, in many ways, singular. Although intensely figurative, it does not come directly from reality but from imagination and daydreaming. The primary, pristine perceptions universal to everyone –quietude, placidity, companionship– are central elements of his repertoire, evoking subtle moments of humanity and capturing simple seconds of life. In his sculpture there is no drama. Instead, balance and form, and a tinge of sensuality, are invariably perceptible.

A masters degree in Medical Illustration –a specialty to create drawings, digital visuals, animations, and 3D models for use in anatomical publications, medical projects and the Web– complemented Miguel's artistic skills (Medical College of Georgia, 1998-2000), allowing him to integrate his medical and artistic dexterities into a new profession, and the following years he worked more as a freelance medical illustrator than as a sculptor.

Two events ignited again Miguel's yearning for sculpture, though: the patina seminars by master patineurs Patrick Kipper (Colorado, 2005) and Ron Young (Indiana, 2005). Hence he turned to modeling one more time, and by October 2007 the outcome of his effort was ready to show: he unveiled a series of fifteen bronzes (available for you in the GALLERY section) at the facilities of the Tampa Museum of Art.

Several years have elapsed since Miguel left his country to settle in the United States. Despite all that time, the South American flavor of his art is still present in his bronzes, and probably will never fade away.

Miguel Reynel is entirely devoted now to bronze sculpture in his home Studio in Tampa, Florida. Some of his ongoing projects can be seen in the WORK IN PROGRESS section.

Luis Armas Autero
Lima, January 2008.