Puerto Rican-born Daniel Acebo grew up diving in the Florida Keys. His love of nature inspired Acebo to pursue studies in environmental engineering at the University of Florida, then landscape architecture at the University of California at Davis. But the calling of Acebo's true nature came to him literally in a dream one night. According to legend, in the dream, Acebo was an old man, sculpting by the ocean. Not just sculpting as a pastime, but rather working on a piece with a lifetime of professional sculpting preceding it. He was so struck by the dream, that the very next day, he went out and purchased modeling clay and tools.
Daniel Acebo gathers inspiration for his animal sculptures from nature. With each, he says, he seeks to exemplify the "essence of the animal." Sleek and fluid in their form, his works hint at a subtle influence of Art Deco and the smooth lines of ancient Egyptian sculpture. He believes that, as an artist, sculpting in bronze allows him the freest expressions of movement, while offering structural integrity, strength and durability. In bronze, he captures his animals in an instant of motion and he can insure that their beauty, strength and energy endure.
Acebo has achieved international recognition for his exquisitely sleek wildlife sculptures.