"C'est Signé!" Lucite sculpture by Hivo Van Teal

19"H x 14" D

A striking sculpture by Cuban born American artist. Hivo Van Teal. A signed piece called, "It is signed!" A beautiful sculpture in lucite. The almost invisible lines will play with your negative space adding a visible jagged prism. An instant eye catcher. In great vintage condition. Original sculpture. Signed. Minor scratches consistent with age. Minor Repair at base. 

After fleeing Havana as a young man, Hivo Van Teal was able to unleash his artistic sensibilities and launch an award-winning lighting and accessories company. Creating sculpture shapes in acrylic soon became a passion. “In 1974, I opened a 600-square-foot studio close to my house in Miami Beach," Hivo recalls. "Together with Estela, I made my first sculptures named 'Family,' 'Atlanta,' and 'Prism.' A friend of mine who was a furniture representative saw them and exhibited them at a show in Miami Beach. Euster Furniture was one of the most exclusive high-end showrooms in Miami, and Mr. Euster was very impressed with my sculptures and gave us a $10,000 order. And that was the beginning of Van Teal, Inc.” 

“My artistic spirit began to grow and I started creating – as a hobby – clear acrylic sculptures,” Hivo states. “Acrylic was a medium familiar to me. When I was 13 years old in Cuba, I helped a Havana sculptor who had been experimenting with acrylic, which had been a secret military product that had just arrived in Havana.”

Art galleries in Florida and retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue in Bal Harbour, and I. Magnin in Washington, D.C., began selling Van Teal sculptures. In 1976, Van Teal, Inc. opened its first showroom at the High Point Market in North Carolina. Van Teal has been singled-out for excellence by winning First Prize for Contemporary Sculptures from ACCA (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1992) and received two ARTS Awards (1995 and 1996).

Cuban American artist

Late 1970s