Patriot Plaza artist brings eagles to life

Four artists have received commissions to create original art for Patriot Plaza, the ceremonial amphitheater at Sarasota National Cemetery. At this time, they are all hard at work at the complicated tasks of turning their design concepts into the art.  In this series of blog posts, The Patterson Foundation introduces the immensely talented people behind the art that will be enjoyed by visitors to Patriot Plaza. 

Sculptor Pablo Eduardo was born and grew up in Bolivia in a family that traces its origins to Spain in the 1500s. He came to the United States as a young man, already steeped in the historical traditions of sculpting and experienced in foundry work. In Bolivia, a poor country , he salvaged copper from keys, phone wire, used gun shells, faucets, pots and pans and more, to cast his work. Later in the U.S., he attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and earned a degree from Tufts University where he also studied anatomy at the medical school.

Pablo is tasked with creating the Sentinel Eagles, which are designed for the west entrance to Patriot Plaza and will help create a beautiful, majestic entrance that is both imposing and intimate.

The eagles will stand at approximately 8 feet tall, which is enough to give them a distinguished and noble presence in context with the rest of the space. Cast bronze and beautifully detailed, the Sentinel Eagles will evoke vigilance. The scale from afar is enough to make a statement of invitation, but it is carefully designed to interact luminously at a human scale when one goes through the entrance.

Throughout his work, Pablo often creates monuments to people of historic significance and digs deep into the story of the subject, whether contemporary or historic.  The result is a manifestation of  the essence of the subject.  His sculptures always have a sense energy and of moving through space – never static.

Pablo has a large body of completed work in the Republic of Bolivia and the United States, particularly the Boston area.  He created an acclaimed 10-foot -tall tribute to Kevin White, the long-time mayor of Boston, which is installed downtown near City Hall. He also produced a monument to Cesar Chavez for the University of Texas, the first sculpture on that campus of a Latin American. His most recent installation is St. Thomas More at Boston College.

He works in the studio he built himself, behind his house, outside of Gloucester, MA.  Two black dogs greet visitors – one named Diego and the other Frieda. A flock of about 30 chickens and roosters also have the run of the place. In the center is a replica of the wall that his Guardian Eagles for Patriot Plaza will be mounted on, and the partially sculpted eagle, in clay, the essence of the familiar symbol, yet an imaginary animal at the same, time with wings flowing back over the wall.

Pablo speaks of the true artist putting his soul into each piece. Pablo’s soul , and the spirit of his subject,  join to make wonderfully moving art.