Natalie Plasencia is the visionary artist behind the Glenn H. Curtiss Monument and June Bug Legacy Memorial, a major public art initiative proposed for Miami Springs’ centennial celebration. The project pays tribute to aviation pioneer and city founder Glenn Curtiss through two defining elements: a life-sized bronze sculpture of Curtiss and a sculptural interpretation of the wings of the June Bug aircraft—the plane Curtiss piloted during the first officially observed public flight of more than one kilometer in the United States in 1908. The monument reflects Plasencia’s commitment to historical storytelling through form, scale, and symbolism.
At the heart of Plasencia’s work is the pursuit of connection. As she notes, “The most basic human desire…is to make a connection.” Her creative process continually returns to the viewer’s experience—what they feel, remember, and carry forward. Through public monuments and intimate sculptural works alike, Natalie Plasencia Calvo crafts art that serves as both remembrance and inspiration, anchoring the past while shaping a more thoughtful future.
Artist Natalie Plasencia in collaboration with Shell Lumber.
Artist Natalie Plasencia talks about connecting with the soul of her sculptures and the moment she sees the work come alive.
Inspiration, prayer, spiritual advisor come first. Natalie Plasencia talks about creating religious art for the new church at Big Pine Key.
Natalie Plasencia poses with a model of the baptismal font she created for St. Peter Church in Big Pine Key.
BIG PINE KEY | When the new church of St. Peter the Fisherman was dedicated this weekend, some of the original artwork salvaged after 2017’s Hurricane Irma — including the stained-glass windows — were back on display.
But other religious artworks — including the main crucifix over the altar and an outdoor statue of St. Peter the Fisherman — were commissioned for the new church by a Miami artist who drew on inspiration, prayer, and her own personal spiritual advisor throughout the process.
“All the artworks were very much inspired by a trip I made to Rome a year before the pandemic,” said Natalie Plasencia, a Cuban American who studied both art and social work and who maintains studios in Miami and Islamorada.
El amor por las mascotas y el arte se unen en Miami.
El Paseo de los Perros y los Gatos será una galería al aire libre en el parque Maurice A. Ferré para sensibilizar a Miami sobre el cuidado de las mascotas.
La escultora y pintora Natalia Plasencia describió el proceso creativo a cargo de su perro, al que llamó Tabaco. La artista, que pinta desde la adolescencia, dijo que si bien suele trabajar obras más serias, con la temática de los derechos humanos, este proyecto representa la oportunidad de “disfrutar del momento”.
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