Miguel Berrocal

Miguel Oriz Berrocal is a Spanish sculptor, born in 1933 at Villanueva de Algaidas, in the province of in Malaga, Spain. After completing high school studies at Ramiro de Maetzu, he studied architecture and mathematics at the University of Madrid and in the evening attended the Escuela de Artes y Oficios under the guidance of Angel Ferrant. As a student of the sculptor Angel Ferrant in Madrid, he started off drawing and painting, before starting to work iron initially into small-sized sculptures. He studied mathematics and architecture at Madrid and then art in Paris and Rome before settling in Negrar, a suburb of Verona.

His first puzzle sculpture was made in 1959. He gradually moved away from large sculptures and towards smaller and more complicated ones. But, Berrocal's interest moved from iron to wrought and welded steel. The steel originals rapidly became cast in bronze, with Berrocal himself, who required all work to be carried out with the utmost precision, becoming the founder himself, and a rather talented one at that. He now presides over a large foundry that casts not only his own work, but also much of the work of other European sculptures.

In 1966, he made a torso of David consisting of twenty-three pieces. The genitals of the Mini David are the "setting" of a ring. Berrocal incorporated rings and other "surprise" pieces into most of his "puzzle sculptures". For example, in the Mini Cariatid below, one of his earliest "multiples", the genitals are the "setting" of a heart shaped ring.

Most of Berrocal's puzzle sculptures are sold out. There are still a few galleries where some are still available, mostly the "mini" and micro" series. A book, Antologica Berrocal, was published by the Minister of Culture in Spain in 1984 covering all of his works from 1955 to 1984. All of the puzzle sculptures, along with copies of the instructions for assembly, are included in the book.

Berrocal now works as a sculptor in Villa Rizzardi, near Verona, Italy. He is one of the most successful sculptors in the world. Achieving "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Des Lettres" and "Commendatore della Republicca Italiana", he has also become a "Goodwill Ambassador" of UNESCO. Berrocal has had public commissions from the French government, the International Olympic Committee, the World Exhibition in Seville and countless others. He even designed the Verona Opera's production of Bizet's "Carmen". Berrocal's studies in Madrid at the Faculty of Exact Sciences, Academy of Fine Art of San Fernando, and the School of Graphic Art, gave him a unique grounding in Mathematical and Technical matters as well as Art. Berrocal also made several study tours of Europe, where he was able to meet such important artists as Giacometti, Afro, Burri and Picasso. His professional advancement began shortly after he had completed his art studies in Madrid, with a commission for the Carrara Chamber of Commerce. For this commission, Berrocal designed balustrades, multiform but always made up of eight elements: Thus he developed the idea of "component sculpture". As well as being exhibited in museums and public parks, Berrocal's art has also been made available to a broader public of collectors and art lovers by means of modern techniques of reproducing multiple copies of his sculptures, which is indeed part of his artistic concept.