Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Cuban, 1950-1991

In July of 1980, Carlos Alfonzo left Cuba in exile through the port of Mariel and arrived in Miami. At an early stage of his youth on the island, Alfonzo’s creative talent became apparent, an endowment he began to cultivate through formal artistic studies at the prestigious San Alejandro Academy and the University of Havana from 1969 to 1977. Carlos Alfonzo became disenchanted with the regime as a young man living and working within the Cuban system, cautiously navigating the emotional and artistic repressions of post-revolutionary life. Carlos Alfonzo decided to leave Cuba just eight months before the pivotal Volumen 1 (Volume 1) exhibition that heralded a new international direction in contemporary Cuban Art and where Alfonzo was slated to exhibit among those who would later become known as the “1980s generation.” With hopes of finally living an open life as an individual and artist, he endured a traumatic crossing via the Mariel boatlift to settle in Miami. Within the decade following his exile, the young artist and political refugee were awarded a Visual Artist Fellowship in Painting from the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C., a Cintas fellowship in the Visual Arts, and his work was exhibited in solo and group shows on a national and international scale including the 1991 Whitney Biennial, the exhibition entitled Hispanic Art in the United States which traveled to seven prominent American institutions, and the 41st Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting at Corcoran Gallery. Today, his work forms part of the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hirshhorn Gallery and Sculpture Garden, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, and numerous institutions of worldwide prominence. Alfonzo’s style developed significantly, and his career as an artist matured during a period in which neo-expressionist figurative Art came to renewed global attention. As he was exposed to great works of modernist and contemporary Art in America, he internalized various styles – cubist, surrealist, expressionistic, and abstract expressionist – and adapted them to his free-flowing expression resulting in a style discernibly his own. A magical body of work emanated, combining intense autobiographical experience with cross-cultural mythologies in an oeuvre laden with penetrative, intimate messaging that recounts the soul and struggle of the artist’s life experience through a stark, resonant system of forms. Alfonzo employs the spiritual iconography of African deities, Catholicism, and the ritualistic emblems of Santería in heads, disembodied facial features, daggers, and arrows to hauntingly convey eternal paradoxes of the human condition and the unconscious, an impression recognized by the leading art critics of the era. Carlos Alfonzo emerged not simply as a Latin American artist but as a celebrated artist of the Americas.

Artist: Carlos Alfonzo

Carlos AlfonzoGreen Ceramic Woman on a Plate, colorful, abstract, 1986

$18,500

Green Ceramic Woman on a Plate, colorful, abstract

By Carlos Alfonzo

Located in New York, NY

A plate with a green and yellow ceramic woman's body from waiter up attached on it. Signed and dated verso. Born in Havana in 1950, Alfonzo w...

Category

1980s Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Vera VizziModeling Clay And Granular Paste Relief On Ping Pong Racket With Ocean Seascape, 2024

$480

H 10.24 in W 6.11 in D 1.19 in

Modeling Clay And Granular Paste Relief On Ping Pong Racket With Ocean Seascape

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Modeling clay and granular paste relief on a ping pong racket finished in acrylic, a compact mixed-media wall relief that evokes wind, sea and sudden light. This work repurposes a q...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Paste, Clay, Acrylic, Found Objects

Yayoi KusamaLove Forever, 2016

$880

H 4.5 in W 4.5 in D 1.5 in

Love Forever

By Yayoi Kusama

Located in New York, NY

Yayoi Kusama Love Forever, 2016 Ceramic (Porcelain) Dish and Cover Stamped Yayoi Kusama on bottom 4 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 1 1/2 inches Unframed Limited edition (exact number created is unkno...

Category

2010s Pop Art Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Porcelain, Screen

Vera VizziPoetic Coastal Abstract Wall Waves Seascape Sculpture with Foam and Enamel, 2024

$1,202Sale Price|20% Off

H 15.75 in W 17.33 in D 3.55 in

Poetic Coastal Abstract Wall Waves Seascape Sculpture with Foam and Enamel

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

L’Ordine delle Onde (The Order of the Waves) is a textural sculpture by Vera Vizzi, part of her ongoing exploration of contemporary coastal art. Crafted from foam clay, acrylic, plas...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Laura PasquinoRound Contemporary White Ceramic, 2024 - 'Essence 2', 2024

$3,487

H 13 in Dm 12.21 in

Round Contemporary White Ceramic, 2024 - 'Essence 2'

Located in Bruxelles, BE

Drawing inspiration from ancient ceramic traditions, including Korean pottery and the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic, Laura Pasquino (Grège Gallery) explores the beauty of imperfection...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Vera VizziModular Domino Wall Sculpture in Pink Foam Clay with Embedded Game Pieces, 2026

$360

H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in

Modular Domino Wall Sculpture in Pink Foam Clay with Embedded Game Pieces

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Compact modular domino wall sculpture in pink foam clay with embedded plastic game pieces on a black wood panel, a playful relief designed for repeatable multi-panel installation. A...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Vera VizziModeling Clay Ping Pong Racket Relief in Sky Blue Mixed-Media Wall Sculpture, 2024

$480

H 10.24 in W 6.11 in D 1.19 in

Modeling Clay Ping Pong Racket Relief in Sky Blue Mixed-Media Wall Sculpture

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Modeling clay and acrylic relief on a repurposed ping-pong racket, a compact mixed-media wall sculpture that stages sky, horizon and a suspended spherical element. This compact mixe...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Paste, Clay, Found Objects, Acrylic

Vera VizziAbstract Domino Wall Relief in Ultramarine Foam Clay and Enamel on Wood, 2026

$360

H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in

Abstract Domino Wall Relief in Ultramarine Foam Clay and Enamel on Wood

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Abstract domino wall relief in deep ultramarine foam clay and enamel on solid wood, a mixed-media sculpture that explores play, accumulation and rupture. This mixed-media domino pan...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Vera VizziUltramarine Foam Clay Wall Sculpture Domino Relief on Wood Panel, Domino Two, 2026

$360

H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in

Ultramarine Foam Clay Wall Sculpture Domino Relief on Wood Panel, Domino Two

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Domino 2 is a sculptural domino panel (15 x 30 x 4 cm) executed in hand-modeled foam clay with enamel and acrylic washes applied over a solid wood board. This mixed-media domino reli...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Vera VizziLunar Crater Modular Wall Sculpture Blue and White Foam Clay Relief on Wood, 2026

$360

H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in

Lunar Crater Modular Wall Sculpture Blue and White Foam Clay Relief on Wood

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Foam clay relief on black wood panel, foamed sculptural surface with acrylic and enamel finish, a modular domino-style tile conceived for multi-unit wall installations. This mixed-me...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Vera VizziSurreal Modeling Clay Ping Pong Racket Relief With Miniature Figure on motorbike, 2024

$480

H 10.24 in W 6.11 in D 1.19 in

Surreal Modeling Clay Ping Pong Racket Relief With Miniature Figure on motorbike

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Modeling-clay relief on a repurposed ping-pong racket where a luminous chroma spot animates a restrained, tactile surface. Scintilla is a concise mixed-media relief that foregrounds ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Paste, Clay, Found Objects, Acrylic

Laura PasquinoWhite Ceramic Sculpture with Texture, 2025 - 'Cream bowl' - Laura Pasquino, 2025

$2,284

H 11.42 in Dm 7.49 in

White Ceramic Sculpture with Texture, 2025 - 'Cream bowl' - Laura Pasquino

Located in Bruxelles, BE

Drawing inspiration from ancient ceramic traditions, including Korean pottery and the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic, Laura Pasquino (Grège Gallery) explores the beauty of imperfection...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Vera VizziModular Domino Wall Sculpture With Foam Clay Fried Egg Motif on Black Wood Panel, 2026

$360

H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in

Modular Domino Wall Sculpture With Foam Clay Fried Egg Motif on Black Wood Panel

By Vera Vizzi

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Mixed-media wall panel with foam clay fried egg motif on black lacquered wood domino panel combining playful humor sculptural relief and tactile acrylic surface. This mixed-media pa...

Category

2010s Contemporary Carlos Alfonzo Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Carlos Alfonzo sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Carlos Alfonzo sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Carlos Alfonzo in ceramic and more. Not every interior allows for large Carlos Alfonzo sculptures, so small editions measuring 15 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Agustín Cárdenas, Carlos Luna, and José Emilio Fuentes Fonseca (JEFF). Carlos Alfonzo sculptures prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $18,500 and tops out at $18,500, while the average work can sell for $18,500.