Margarita Cano

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About the Artists:

Born in Havana, Cuba February 27, 1932. Cano arrived in the United States on October, 1962. She worked at the Miami-Dade Public Library as a Community Relations and Art Services Coordinator. In 1993, she started painting full time and creating on of a kind artist books ARTIST STATEMENT My Cuban roots are reflected in my art work. It tells and retells my personal vision of Cuba. Installations of my painting visually narrate the Cuban drama: an island frozen in time surrounded by a seawall where Cubans wait for change. I document this quest for democracy and freedom through allegories and metaphors. Miami, Florida

Biography:

Margarita Cano transforms memory into magic. Biblical and art historical allusions monumentalize the daily grievances of contemporary life in Cuba. Cano’s work is reminiscent of the illuminated manuscripts of the High Middle Ages. Distant memory and loss have a way of transforming even the prosaic into a magical recollection. In Cano’s work, the idealized landscapes of her beloved island serve as setting for the interaction of the sacred and the mundane. Throughout her work, the tension between surface ornamentation and three-dimensionality is enhanced by the rich jewel-like finish that belies the presence of the brush. This tension strengthens the narrative content of the work. It is in the storytelling that Cano invites the viewer to partake of here memory and her magic.

Résumé:

1993 - DREAMING CUBA
Gallery of the Eccentric
Coral Gables, Florida

1998 - VISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
Cultural Resource Center
Miami, Florida

2003 - TRANSCENDING EXILE
Coral Gables Library
Coral Gables, Florida

2005 - CUBA-PARADISE LOST
Books and Books
Coral Gables, Florida

CUBA-PARADISE LOST
Connors Rosato Gallery
New York, New York

2006 - MEMORIES AND METAPHORS
Oñate Fine Art
Miami, Florida

2007 - IMAGES AND MEMORIES
Cremata Fine Art
Miami, Florida

2008 - DIVINE PRESENCE/ PRESENCIA DIVINA
Viota Gallery
San Juan, Puerto Rico

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1993 - EXODUS
South Florida Art Center
Miami Beach, Florida

1994 - ANGELS AND DEMONS
Gallery of the Eccentric
Coral Gables, Florida

3 X 5 PROJECT
South Florida Art Center
Miami Beach, Florida

2002 - A IS FOR ART
South Florida Art Center
Miami, Florida

2003 - SUMMER SHOW
Cultural Resource Center
Miami, Florida

2007 - THE CUBAN EXPERIENCE
University of Miami Library
Coral Gables, Florida

Statement:

“My paintings are a window into a dream world of memories which are unattainable but become alive in my pictorial narratives. With metaphors and allegories I retell the story of Cuba so close to us and yet so far away. I will continue my quest in pursuit of a happy closure to this never ending saga.”

Additional Information:

Born: 1932
Birthplace: Havana, Cuba