Margarita Cano (artist)
Margarita Cano | |
---|---|
Born | Cuban-American | February 27, 1932
Other names | Margarita Fernandez Cano |
Alma mater | University of Havana |
Occupation(s) | Artist, curator, librarian |
Years active | 1950s - 2024 |
Notable work | Miami Tumble, The Miami Generation, Surrounded Islands, The Miami Book Fair |
Margarita Cano was a Cuban-American artist, curator, scholar, former liaison of the Miami-Dade Public Library System and Center for the Fine Arts, and former Head of Community Relations for the Miami-Dade Public Library System. She was a significant contributor to the development of the Latin American art market of South Florida as a leading figure in the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County public library systems. Cano is responsible for launching the permanent art collection of the Miami-Dade County Library System as well as spearheading several milestone Miami art and literary events of the 1980s, such as Surrounded Islands, The Miami Generation exhibition, and the Miami Book Fair.
Cano died in Miami, Florida, on March 19, 2024, at the age of 92.[1]
Background and early life in Cuba
Margarita Victoria Fernandez y Villa Urrutia was born in
Her upbringing with her brother Rafael in the Fernandez household within
In the 1950s she would frequently visit Miami, where her brother was then residing while securing a second law degree from the University of Miami. In that period Miami was a mid-sized city with more affordable commodities than the more metropolitan Havana.[6] She would also frequently visit New York City and Washington, D.C., in her youth before the Cuban Revolution.
Cano's mother died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism when Cano was in her twenties and employed in an industrial chemical lab in Havana. Following her mother's death, a close relative was appointed by the Castro government as director of the National Library and Margarita became her personal assistant. During this period the National Library was a central element of Castro's campaign to increase literacy in rural areas. While working in the library, Cano also returned to the University of Havana to study library science, after which she was tasked with reorganizing the
She married Pablo Benigno Cano Diago, an agricultural engineer, in 1956. He was also active as a musician and played electric guitar and bass alongside high-profile figures visiting Havana including Liberace, Maurice Chevalier, Roberta Flack, Sarah Vaughan, as well as jazz musicians. In 1959 the Cano's had her first child, her daughter Isabel. In 1960, Cano earned her master's degree in library science from the University of Havana. Their second child, Pablo, was born in 1961.
Life in the United States
1960s and 1970s
On October 17, 1962, the Cano family was able to secure safe passage out of Cuba and arrived in Miami where they joined the growing Cuban exile community there.[3][7][8] The following year Cano began working at the City of Miami Public Library System. Over the next thirty years she would play a public role in elevating the Library System's profile and role in the community, particularly in the arts. In 1970 Cano started working at the newly created Art Services Department, where she would organize lectures and art exhibitions, throughout the library system. These activities were designed to use the Public Library System to help meet the growing needs of the South Florida art community and supplant the lack of art institutions, particularly for minority communities such as Latin American and African American art markets.[9]
Among her significant contributions to the Library System, Cano launched the system's permanent art collection of original prints and art works that were displayed throughout the system's libraries.[5][3] It would grow to over 7,000 works by more than 2,000 artists, spanning from local Miami artists to internationally recognized artists such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, Ed Ruscha, Lowell Nesbitt, and Juan González.[2][10][11]
In 1971, the City of Miami transferred the Library management responsibility to the Dade-County Public Library System, merging the institutions. Through the 1970s, Cano organized the Art Services Department as it continued to grow. During this period she initiated "The Art Mobile,” a mobile art gallery exhibition space sponsored with the support of Southeast Banks.[3][12] The success of the program caused the Artmobile concept to become a model for other library systems in the United States.[12] Pop artist Lowell Nesbitt was commissioned to paint the exterior of the Art Mobile, for which he created an original design featuring tropical flowers and black zebra stripes.[10] After nearly two decades, the Art Mobile was ultimately retired in 1992 following Hurricane Andrew.[10]
In April 1976, Cano wrote the article “Bridging the Art Gap: The Role of the Public Library” Which was published in the ARLIS/NA Newsletter (now the Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America).[13][14] The following year Cano organized the presentation of the first exhibition of CINTAS Fellows in 1977.[5]
1980s to post-retirement
Cano was also a key figure in organizing several of the major art events in Miami of the 1980s that helped the region emerge as a national, and later international, arts hub that decade. In 1981 Cano initiated and organized the Downtown Art Wave ‘81 Miami Tumble to generate public interest and awareness for the then-upcoming Metro Dade Cultural Center, for which Cano was an art staff member.
In 1983 Cano curated the high-profile
That same year, Cano also spearheaded the landmark The Miami Generation exhibition of 1983, among Miami's most significant and high-profile art events of the 1980s.
In 1984, Cano helped organize and launch The Miami Book Fair with area book sellers and Miami Dade College.[21][22][23] Since its launch, The Miami Book Fair International has become the most comprehensively programmed book fair in the United States and attracts more than 200 national and international exhibitors, 500 authors, and over 200,000 attendees.[24]
In 1990, Cano curated the exhibition Miami Thriving in Change: Showcasing 50 years of Miami's Cultural Growth. Cano then retired from the Miami Dade Public Library System in 1992, after which she recommitted herself to her art career.[7] She also remained active in the community through the arts and her roles in foundation boards, including the Oscar B. Cinta's Foundation Board and the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture Board.
In 1998, Cano co-curated the exhibition Touched by Aids with Barbara N. Young and Helen L. Kohen.[25]
In 2001, Cano co-founded the Miami-Dade Public Library System's Vasari Project with Kohen and Young to archive the development of visual arts in the area from 1945 to the present.[26][10]
In 2007, Cano's film Once Upon an Island, part of her multimedia exhibition of the same name, received a special screening at the 2nd Annual Women's International Film Festival in Miami. The film was edited by Jorge Hernandez and featured music by JC Espinosa.[27]
Art career
In addition to her career as a curator, Cano painted since the age of five in Cuba and was self-taught.
While still in Cuba, Cano became close to other Cuban artists that would become significant contributors to the establishment and development of Cuban and Latin American art in South Florida, such as Miguel Jorge and Gabriel Sorzano.[4] Among her earliest supporters was Cuban Vanguardia artist Wifredo Lam.[4]
In Miami, while working for the Miami-Dade Public Library System and developing its arts program, Cano was also a contributor and featured artist in several early Cuban and Latin American art venues in South Florida, such as Bacardi Gallery and Permuy Gallery.[29]
Throughout her career, her art has been exhibited in New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and throughout South Florida. Cano's art is held in the permanent collection of the Lowe Art Museum, Miami-Dade Public Library of Downtown Miami, and the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale FL.
Select art exhibitions
- 1970 — 6th Annual Piedmont Graphics Exhibition, Mint Museum, Charlot, NC [citation needed]
- 1970 — Bacardi Art Gallery, Miami FL[30][31]
- 1973-75 — Permuy Gallery, Coral Gables FL[29][4]
- 1980 — Forma Gallery, Coral Gables FL [citation needed]
- 1986 — Viota Gallery, San Juan Puerto Rico [citation needed]
- 1993 — Gallery of the Eccentric, Coral Gables FL [12]
- 1998 — Cultural Resource Center, Miami FL [32]
- 2002 — South Florida Art Center, Miami Beach FL [32]
- 2005 — Books & Books, Coral Gables FL [33]
- 2005 — Connors Rosato Gallery, NY [32]
- 2006 — Oñate Gallery, Miami FL [32]}
- 2007 — Centre Gallery, Miami FL [citation needed]
- 2008 — Viota Gallery, San Juan Puerto Rico [32]
- 2013 — Zadoc Gallery, Miami FL [citation needed]
- 2012 — Saladrigas Gallery, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Miami FL [34]
- 2014 — Miami Dade College Downtown Campus, Miami FL [35]
- 2015 — Miami Dade Public Library Retrospective [36]
- 2017 — FAU University Gallery, Boca Raton FL [37]
- 2019 — LnS Gallery, Miami FL [38]
- 2019 — Frost Art Museum FIU, Miami FL [39]
- 2021 — Colonial Florida Cultural Heritage Center, Miami FL[40]
- 2022 — Daytona Art Museum, Daytona FL [citation needed]
- 2022 — NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale FL[41]
- 2022-2023 — The BluPrnt, Bridge Red Studios, North Miami[42]
- 2023 — Chapel of La Merced, Corpus Christi Church, Allapatah FL [citation needed]
Legacy and recognitions
In 1992, the Miami-Dade County School Board recognized Margarita Cano for being instrumental in the development of the Art Mobile.[citation needed]
In 2009, Cano received the Oscar B. Cintas Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.[5]
In 2012, Cano was honored in the fundraising event Miami Moments 2012 as one of "The Library’s Three Graces in the Arts" along with Barbara Young and Helen Kohen for co-founding the Vasari Project to archive the history of visual art in Miami-Dade County.[26]
In 2018, Cano was awarded the Helen Kohen Miami Legends Award.[citation needed]
In 2019, the City of North Miami Florida passed a Proclamation in declaring September 24, 2019 “Margarita Cano Day” in recognition of her career and impact.
From November 2021 to February 2022, the NSU Art Museum honored Cano with a retrospective exhibition of her art titled Margarita Cano: 90 Years, marking her 90th birthday.[41]
Cano was among the artists included in The BluPrnt exhibition highlighting a century of art in Miami. Curated by Robert Chambers and hosted by Bridge Red Studios, the exhibition was held from November 20, 2022 — February 12, 2023, a period that notably included Miami Art Week 2022 and marked the 20th anniversary of
Cano was honored on her 91st birthday on February 27, 2023, with an exhibition of her work titled Margarita Cano: A Celebration in the Chapel of La Merced, Corpus Christi Church, curated by Carol Damien.[citation needed]
In addition to her recognitions, Cano was also interviewed by researchers regarding her contributions and recollections across a range of topics including: The Cuban Revolution, the Cuban exile experience, the development of the Miami-Dade County Public Library System's art programs, and the development of Cuban and Latin American art in South Florida. Her interviews have been included on the
Personal life and family
Margarita Cano was married to agricultural engineer and President of Climax recording studio Pablo Benigno Cano Diago (1929-2014).[3] They were married in 1956 and had two children: a daughter, Isabel, and the artist Pablo Cano.[3][44]
Her father was the noted Cuban intellectual and scholar Rafael Antonio Maria Fernandez Ruenes. Fernandez Ruenes was a
Her brother, Rafael Fernandez, was the Chief Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Clark Art Institute in Williams College of Williamstown, Massachusetts.[3][48][49][50]
See also
References
- ^ "OBITUARY Margarita Cano". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Martínez, Juan A. (22 April 1998). "Oral history interview with Margarita Cano, 1998 April 22". www.aaa.si.edu. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Powell, David (18 October 2018). "Margarita Fernandez Cano: An Oral History of Exiles from Castro's Cuba". Interview. Ninety Miles From Home LLC.
- ^ a b c d Permuy, Antonio. "New Gables Landmark Captures A Lifetime of Legacy in Art: Remembering Miguel Jorge's Solo Exhibition 50 Years Ago". Gables Living. 2023 (January). Coral Gables, Florida: Gables Living Magazine, Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables: 9–11.
- ^ a b c d e f "Cano, Margarita". www.cintasfoundation.org. CINTAS Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ Permuy, Antonio; Cosio, Leo (27 December 2022). "Revisiting 1972: the year that made modern Miami". www.sfmn.fiu.edu. South Florida Media Network. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Miami-Dade Public Library System presents Margarita Cano's Explorations". www.communitynewspapers.com. Miami, Floridaa: Miami's Community Newspapers. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Batet, Janet (5 October 2014). "Once upon a time: The Miami Generation". www.artoncuba.com. ART Oncuba. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Art at the Library, Miami-Dade Public Library System". Washington D.C.: ©2023 Urban Libraries Council. 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Fraser Delgado, Celeste (29 January 2012). "Library fundraiser, exhibition celebrates Miami's Three Graces". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 3M.
- ^ "Permanent Art Collection: Art Services & Exhibitions Division". www.mdpls.org. Miami-Dade County. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d Kohen, Helen L. (14 October 1994). "Going Public: Retired librarian no stranger to bold, sophisticated work". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 17G.
- S2CID 113577604. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- S2CID 113577604. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b Dunlop, Beth (12 July 1981). "Dominoes to tumble downtown". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 8L.
- ^ "GIANT DOMINOS FOR DOWNTOWN ART WAVE". www.wearewaam.org. Women Artists Archive Miami. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b c John, Kessler (28 November 1981). "Tonight & Tomorrow: Watch Flagler Street come tumbling down". The Miami News. Miami, Florida. p. 1A.
- ^ a b Alvarez Bravo, Armando; Espinosa Almodovar, Juan; Cabrera, Marta (2012). Pedro Hernadez: Line in Movement. Miami, Florida: Bellack Color Corp.
- ^ a b Austin, Tom (14 October 2018). "'Pink Phase': Miami's 1983 Christo exhibit shook the world and changed the city forever". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. pp. M6–M7.
- ^ Jaffe McCabe, Cynthia; Cano, Margarita; Blanc, Giulio V. (October 1983). The Miami Generation: Nine Cuban-American Artists Catalog. Miami, Florida: Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture.
- ^ Padron, Eduardo (8 November 2009). "The birth of the Book Fair". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 8MB.
- ^ Padron, Eduardo (4 March 2010). "Miami book fair had a humble birth in 1980s". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ Adams, Janiah (15 November 2017). "The little-known woman Behind Miami's Book Fair". The Miami Times. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Miami Book Fair: About". www.miamibookfair.com. Miami Book Fair. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Thursday Lecture Series : The Vasari Project and the Artist as Archive". www.coralgablesmuseum.org. The Coral Gables Museum. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b "MIAMI MOMENTS 2012". www.wearewaam.org. Women Artists Archive Miami. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Public Art Wednesday: Margarita Cano's Once Upon an Island". www.soulofmiami.org. Miami, Florida: © 2023 The Soul Of Miami. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ Cascone, Sarah (26 November 2021). "Looking to See Some Art Beyond a Fair Booth? Here Are 16 Museum and Gallery Shows to Visit During Art Basel Miami Beach 2021". www.news.artnet.com. Miami, Florida: Artnet News. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b Permuy, Antonio; Martinez Carbonell, Karelia (8 December 2022). "Great Things Often Come From Humble Beginnings: Permuy Gallery Site Declared A Landmark" (Digital). Gables Insider. Coral Gables, Florida. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ Smith, Griffin (8 March 1970). "Abstracts in Mixed Media". The Miami Herald. p. 2H.
- ^ Bower, Nellie (18 March 1970). "Cano's paintings rich in color". The Miami News. p. 2C.
- ^ a b c d e "MARGARITA CANO: About the Artist". www.onatefineart.com. Oñate Contemporary Art. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ Connor, Olga (6 March 2005). "Margarita Cano: El Paraiso Perdido". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). p. 8D.
- ^ Diaz Casas, Rafael (11 April 2013). "In Conversation: Janet Batet on Cachita: The infinite lightness of being". www.cubanartnewsarchive.org. The Howard + Patricia Farber Foundation. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "CHC Materials on View". www.library.miami.edu. University of Miami Libraries. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ Staff (3 September 2015). "Margarita Cano's Explorations". The Miami Herald. p. 19SE.
- ^ "FAU PRESENTS EXHIBITION ON THE FLORIDA DREAM". www.fau.edu. Boca Raton, Florida: © 2023 Florida Atlantic University. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "LnS GALLERY presents THE ARTFUL BOOK 2019". www.lnsgallery.com. 2023 LnS Gallery. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Spheres of Meaning: An Exhibition of Artists' Books". www.frost.fiu.edu. Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Colonial Florida Cultural Heritage Center presents Divine Presence: The Art of Margarita Cano". www.artmiamimagazine.com. © Art Miami Magazine. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Margarita Cano: 90 Years". www.nsuartmuseum.org. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: NSU Art Museum. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ a b "The BluPrnt Show". www.the.bluprnt.art. The BluPrnt Show, FIU Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ISBN 9781683402572.
- ^ Alfonso-Paisley, Helena (21 December 2019). "Pablo Cano y su mundo de maravillas en plena Saguasera". El Nuevo Herald. p. 11A.
- ^ a b Del Pino, Isabel (13 January 1977). "Handwriting expert's life follows unusual script". The Miami Herald. p. 6B.
- ^ Holmberg, David (6 January 1977). "Metro police lab expert retires". The Miami News. p. 7A.
- ^ AP (26 October 1951). "Phony signing of checks can cause trouble". The Bradenton Herald. p. 5.
- ^ "Fernandez, Rafael". www.worldcat.org. WorldCat Identities, OCLC, Inc. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "The Impressionist Line from Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec: Drawings and Prints from the Clark" (PDF). www.frick.org. © 1998-2023 The Frick Collection. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- JSTOR 1554648. Retrieved 3 March 2023.