Upcycled Art Sculpture by Juan Mejia-Peru (Novica)

Upscale art or recycled art has been around for ages. The concept of a sustainable form of art has given artists around the world a new method of visionary sculpting. Artists such as Brian Mock of Oregon, Sam Pierre of London, Michael Costa of Brazil, and of course Miguel "Metal" Mexia of Peru.
Juan Miguel Mejia Caillahua or better known as Miguel "Metal" Mexia, is a self-taught and impassioned artist. As a teenager growing up in Lima, Peru Miguel would tear apart other toys to use the parts to rebuild into gargoyles. As he got older Miguel started using metal parts to make sculptures of medieval characters and figures playing musical instruments inspired by his days in a "black heavy metal" band.
A personal hobby and passion for all things metal led to a way to make money. One day while making a medieval knight he was missing some pieces to complete his sculpture, so he went by his friend's auto shop. His friend told him he could have anything he needed. Miguel felt like he "struck gold" with the abundance of metal parts laying all over the shop. Unknown by his compadre, Miguel had actually taken some parts he needed to repair a car in his shop for a customer. When Miguel's friend went to ask about the parts three days later, Miquel had already welded them into a sculpture. Miguel and his friend had to go to the client in which the parts were intended to fix the customers vehicle. After explaining to the customer about the mistake and showing the man the parts welded into the sculpture, the customer did not even get angry. The customer was fascinated by the sculpture and actually bought it from Miguel. The customer even named Miguels art piece "The Son of the Mercedes" because the parts Miguel took from the auto shop were for his Mercedes. Miguel began making metal sculptures in his father's welding shop full time until he found himself in Callao Penitentiary Establishment. In a small prison space, Miguel improvised a welding workshop and sculpted extravagant characters from Greek mythology, trendy and urban designs, and sporting visuals. He sent his prison works to his family to be sold and even put into art galleries. Galleries like Inka Club, Novica, Dedalo, and Cafe Ribeyros began selling Miguels sculptures while confined in prison. Miguel "Metal" Mejia is a free man now and has turned a 180-degree turn in his life. He continues his passion of metal upscale art pieces that can be found on several international e-commerce sites that help artists reach wider audiences. This basketball sculpture was distributed by Novica (est. 1995, Stanford University) and picked in Denton, Texas.

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