The field of monumental sculpture is barely part of the current art vocabulary, making the art of José Buscaglia all the more compelling. Referring to himself as a cultural nationalist, Buscaglia has committed a long and impressive career to the social and political context of public art. Trained in Puerto Rico and Barcelona, Spain, as well as Harvard, he has been internationally recognized as a sculptor, educator, social scientist and as a specialist in the study of creativity. Born in the capital city of San Juan in 1938, his involvement with the arts dates from the precocious age of eight. During this early phase of his career he underwent intensive training with the Catalonian artist Ismael D’Alsina. While a student at Harvard, he spent a year abroad in Barcelona, working at the studio of world-renowned sculptor Enrique Monjo. He also took courses at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Barcelona, where Picasso, Dalí and Miró had studied earlier. Following his graduation with honors from Harvard in 1960, he collaborated with Monjo as his assistant and secretary. Returning to Puerto Rico in 1962, Buscaglia held positions for 18 years at the University of Puerto Rico as professor, sculptor in residence and director of fine arts.

His lifelong interest in the nature of the creative process and thinking skills led to his participation in the designing and implementation of experimental educational programs in Venezuela from 1979 to 1985. A joint effort by Harvard University and the Venezuelan government led to an innovative process-oriented program to teach thinking skills known as Project Intelligence.