Cuban sculptor and ceramist Rafael Consuegra, has died in Miami at 80 years old after suffering a heart attack. Renowned for his monumental pieces with winged figures inspired by angels, Consuegra "was a tireless creator and a dreamer."

"He did not stop working until the last of his days," said his assistant, Paloma Marino in a statement to EFE. 

The sculptor died on Friday, Sept. 17, one day after his 80th birthday.

Consuegra studied art at Miami Dade College and later earned a master's degree in Fine Arts at the University of Miami in 1971. He was the winner of several major awards, including the Miami Art Center's Award for Sculpture in 1967. 

"As an artist he mastered ceramics very well with dramatic figurative expressions, but was best known for his works in metals. He managed to show works in Russia, Spain, in important places. He handled sculpture in public spaces very well. He achieved works of abstract character; his work is very well identified by all its formal and conceptual elements. He achieved a personal style.

His pieces are commonly made with metal and ceramic, and large in format. His work is characterized by being inspired by "movement and balance." Consuiegra has been installed in different parts of the world, both in Europe and America.

In 2012, he was appointed as U.S. ambassador to promote Belgrade as the capital of the arts.

One of his winged sculptures highlighted by his assistant was The Guardian Of The River, which was commissioned by the city of Jacksonville and completed in 2017. The piece has become a must-stop for tourists visiting the downtown area of the city

Consuegra lived as an exile in the United States since the 1960s, when he left Cuba.