Tomas Oliva was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1959. It was there where he discovered his love for art. He studied at San Alejandro Academy, perfected his training at the Instituto Superior de Arte, and traveled to the Ukraine at the Kiev State Institute of Art. Raised in the rigor and technical excellence personified by his father, the renowned sculptor Tomas Oliva. Tomas Oliva Jr., has a lengthy trajectory as a creator and art educator. Oliva's large-scale sculptures are displayed in Cuba, Ukraine, India, Chile and the United States. His influences also include artists Edvard Munch and Kate Kollwitz. His work has been endorsed by Ricardo Pau Llosa, Armando Alvarez Bravo and Eliseo Alberto among other prominent art critics.