Venezuelan artist welds six-foot horse sculpture for Fort Erie trade school

A metal horse sculpture created by José Manuel, an artist welding student at Cappa College, will be put on display at its Fort Erie campus.

Up until a few months ago, Manuel never worked with metal or welding equipment before arriving in Fort Erie. The horse sculpture is his first major metalwork project, which began as part of a class assignment and then evolved into a nearly 6-foot-tall art piece built between November 12 and December 17 with the help of classmates.

Manuel is a sculptor from Maracaibo, Venezuela, who began working with clay and plasticine at age four.

By the time he was eight, Manuel was molding horses and other farm animals.

He came to Canada to pursue education and opportunities after Cappa College accepted him into its program, with support from Bridges Niagara, as he works to build a better future for his three daughters while continuing his practice as a sculptor.

The project began as a routine class exercise using plasma torches and cutting tools, with students drawing and cutting abstract shapes. After sketching a horse’s head, Jose began assembling the pieces, ultimately transforming the metal scraps into a striking abstract horse sculpture.

Manuel told Fort Erie Radio the work took about three hours a day over several weeks, with classmates lending their assistance by cutting, drawing, sanding and welding pieces of the sculpture.

“This piece was inspired by my uncle Carlos and his dream, since when he was alive, he was one of my biggest supporters,” said Manuel, adding that his uncle once described to him a dream of seeing Manuel create a life-size steel horse, which stayed with him while shaping the sculpture.

He said the horse represents “freedom and a beautiful gift for Canada.”

“Those dreams come true when you work for them, regardless of the circumstances you face in life,” said Manuel.

Some major challenges to the project were the limited time, language barriers and transportation from his home in St. Catharines since he relies on a classmate for rides.

Cappa College welding instructor Ben Nagy said the project represents to students that welding can support creative work alongside industrial jobs.

“You don’t have to just be stuck in a factory welding. You can do a little bit of art too, just with a welder and some metal,” said Nagy.

Nagy said the sculpture may be placed outdoors or in a main interior space so students can see what is possible with basic tools and imagination.

“There are a lot of people who can make very good money just in sculptures and different things like that,” said Nagy, who has spent more than 20 years creating welded art and ironwork, including a custom chandelier at the Harley-Davidson dealership in Niagara-on-the-Lake and iron features for businesses in St. Catharines.

Manuel said his goal after finishing his studies is to open his own workshop and continue creating steel sculptures.

More photos of the horse sculpture are available on his Instagram page.

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