The Fine Art of Toca, metal orchid sculptures

The Fine Art of Toca: A Caribbean Vision

Juan Carlos Toca's childhood upbringing was inspired by natural Caribbean landscapes, the Colonial architecture el Yunque and Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was influenced by the architectural designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe. When he visited his Grandmother’s home and the studio of his Godfather, Eddy, who was studying architecture at the time, the imagery of master paintings and sculpture stirred his artistic ambitions. At the age of twenty, he began sculpting commissions for patrons in the field of architecture and real estate development.

In 1995, Juan Carlos' work was selected by Dr. Samella Lewis, a guest curator of the Caribbean Visions exhibition and a leading scholar of the arts of the Caribbean and Africa. In this two year travelling exhibition, his work was compared to Brancusi, Henry Moore, and David Smith. This exhibition showcased contemporary Caribbean and Latin American artists. In 1990, one of this first works was sculpted for Amnesty International USA.

His work has been exhibited in local Miami venues and prominent museums in the United States such as:

Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC. July 12th to October 4th, 1997.
Wadsworth Atheneum: Hartford, Connecticut. April 5th to June 15th, 1997.
Middlebury College Museum of Art: Middlebury, Vermont. January 11th to March 9th, 1997.
African American Museum: Dallas, Texas. October 5th to December 15th, 1996.
Portsmouth Museums: Portsmouth, Virginia. July 13th to September 8th, 1996.
New Orleans Museum of Art: New Orleans, Louisiana. January 27th to March 24th, 1996.
MAM "Center for the Fine Arts: Miami, Florida. September 9th to November 5th, 1995.

To see other examples of orchid and botanical metal sculptures by Juan Carlos Toca's, click here