Artist Bio

Featured Artist: Enrique Gómez de Molina

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1963, Enrique Gómez de Molina is one of the most singular voices in contemporary sculpture. Raised in Miami, he learned the craft of taxidermy from his father — a preparator at the Miami Museum of Science — who encouraged his children to play freely with animal forms and reimagine the natural world. What began as a child's game of mixing and matching became a decades-long artistic practice that sits at the intersection of natural history, surrealism, and ecological conscience.

"The impossibility of my sculpture brings me both joy and sadness at the same time. The joy comes from seeing and experiencing the Fantasy of the work — but that is coupled with the sadness of the fact that we are destroying all of these beautiful things." - Enrique Gómez de Molina

Gómez de Molina's sculptures are hybrid creatures — part iguana, part bird of paradise; part armadillo, part pheasant; part deer, part peacock — assembled with surgical precision from ethically sourced animal specimens purchased from farms, vendors, and licensed suppliers. The result is a private menagerie of impossible beings: gorgeous, humorous, unsettling, and profoundly alive. Each piece asks the same question: what are we doing to the natural world, and what might it become?

Like many artists whose work brushes against difficult subjects, Enrique's path has not been simple. In 2012 he was convicted in U.S. federal court for illegally importing protected wildlife used in some of his early sculptures and served a 20‑month sentence, along with forfeiting the materials involved. He has since expressed deep remorse for those decisions and for the contradiction between his actions and his intent to celebrate biodiversity. Today his practice is built around legally sourced, fully documented materials and an ongoing effort to honor the animals he depicts rather than endanger them.

Visit the artist's website

Exhibitions & Recognition

Enrique's work has been exhibited across the United States and internationally, including:

Solo Exhibitions

  • This Is Not Taxidermy — Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL (2012)
  • Fantasy in Reality — Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA (2020)
  • Enrique Gomez de Molina — Sky Gallery, Miami, FL (2007)
  • Beast Within — Eyes on You Gallery, Miami, FL (2006)

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • (re)Evolution: Enrique Gomez de Molina & Troy Abbott — University of Wyoming Art Museum (2019)
  • All That You Have is Your Soul — Faction Projects, New York, NY (2018)
  • Dark and Stormy Night — Lehman College, New York, NY (2017)
  • Fragile Ecologies — Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Aspen, CO & Art New York (2017)
  • The Peaceable Kingdom — Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL (2015)
  • Welcome to the Jungle — Pan American Art Projects, Wynwood, Miami (2014)
  • Rogue Taxidermy Show — La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2010)
  • Nature, Revisions, and Dreams — Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL (2010)
  • Art Object — Art Modern Gallery, Naples, FL (2009)
  • Hispanic Reflections — South Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art (1996)

Art Fairs

Art Miami (multiple years), Art Wynwood, Art New York, Art Palm Springs, LA Art Show, SCOPE Miami Beach, Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary

Where to Find His Work

Enrique's original sculptures are held in private and institutional collections around the world, including:

  • C21 Museum — Kentucky
  • Cirque du Soleil Collection — Canada
  • The London Hotel — London, UK
  • The Sagamore Collection — Miami, FL
  • Beth DeWoody Collection — Palm Beach, FL

His work is represented by Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in Miami (bernicesteinbaum.gallery) and Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans (arthurrogergallery.com). Original sculptures and available works can also be explored at his official website: enriquegomezdemolina.com.

A Note on Reproduction Ethics

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