Collection

Sculptor, graphic artist, painter, teacher. López Dirube studied at the University of Havana in 1947 and later, in 1949 and 1950, at the Art Students League of New York and the Brooklyn Museum Arts School. He came to Puerto Rico in 1961. As his own work evolved, he taught in several academic institutions, from the University of Puerto Rico to the Art Students League of San Juan. Among the prizes and awards he won throughout his career is the gold medal at the First Hispano-American Biennial in Madrid, in 1951. He worked in wood, stone, concrete, and metal, often combining them. Several of his sculptures were produced as a result of private or institutional commissions, and he also produced sculptural reliefs over architectural facades. He set up a studio in Santo Domingo, where he had greater access to various types of wood. His wood sculptures, which he is best known for, are generally abstract, and they are distinguished by the geometry of their forms and the sophistication of their polished surfaces.