Quick Facts
Biography
Margarita Cabrera, also known as Margo, is a Mexican-American artist.
Margarita Cabrera received an MFA from Hunter College in New York, NY. Cabrera currently lives and works in El Paso where she recently had a two-year exhibit at the El Paso Museum of Art. Her work has been included in galleries such as 516Arts, Sara Meltzer, Walter Maciel, and Synderman-Works. Her work has been included in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston; the McNay Museum San Antonio; the Sweeney Art Center for Contemporary Art at the University of California, Riverside, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, and El Museo del Barrio, NYC, LA County Museum of Art, CA. In 2012 she was a recipient of the Knight Artist in Residence at the McColl Center for Visual Art in Charlotte, NC. Cabrera was also a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant.
Early life
Cabrera was born in the city of Monterrey in the state of Nuevo Leon, México. She moved to the U.S. at around the age of 10, when her family was in search of better opportunities. Her inspiration to become an artist began in childhood. She said she was raised as a “Montessori child,” where she was taught different concepts through sensorial activities and tactile experiences that allowed her to communicate her expressions artistically.
Cabrera is now recognized as successful Mexican-American artist, activist and organizer whose objects and activities address timely issues related to border relations, labor practices and immigration. Turning crafts and their manufacture into the vehicle for socio-political consideration, she questions con-temporary applications of post-NAFTA Latin American labor. Drawing upon local communities, Cabrera orchestrates the manufacture of soft, vinyl sculptures resembling backpacks, bicycles, potted plants, domestic appliances, pianos, and full-sized automobiles. Throughout the process, she works with displaced immigrants – organizing workshops and ad hoc corporations to close the gulf between third world production and first world consumption. In the summer of 2011 she will lead a workshop in Winston-Salem, in which the products will be displayed alongside existing work in this fall exhibition.
Career beginnings
Before 1994
Political views
She especially focused on community art collaborations, producing work that has engaged international and local communities in transformative practices. With these works, she created art pieces that serve as cultural and historical artifacts that value and document the experiences, struggles, and achievements of those who have found their way, often through migration and exceptional sacrifice, to new places where they now work to contribute meaningfully within their communities.
Her work mainly focuses on American-Mexican relations and what that personal experience entails.
Style and technique
Margarita's art
Exhibitions
| Solo Exhibitions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Sewing our Landscape, Talley Dunn Gallery, Dallas, TX Margarita Cabrera, Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX | ||
| 2013 | Margarita Cabrera, General Consulate of Mexico in El Paso, El Paso TX Brought Us With Me, Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Art Center, Austin, TX Margarita Cabrera, Latino Cultural Center, Dallas, TX | ||
| 2011-2013 | Margarita Cabrera, curated by Christian Gerstheimer, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX | ||
| 2012 | México Abre la Boca, Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Art Center, Austin, TX | ||
| 2011 | Cotton Circles, curated by Elizabeta Betinski, Center for Creativity and the Arts, California State University, Fresno, CA Space in Between, curated by Steven Matijcio, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC Margarita Cabrera, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Margarita Cabrera, curated by Christian Gerstheimer, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX Pulso y Martillo, curated by Tyler Stallings, Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside, CA Performance: Pulso y Martillo, Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside CA, Feb 5 Performance: Board of Directors, Sweeney Art Gallery, Riverside, CA Mar 5 | ||
| 2010 | Space in Between, Box 13 Artspace, Houston, TX | ||
| 2008 | Árbol de la Vida, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Árbol de la Vida, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| 2007 | Margarita Cabrera, Finesilver Gallery, Houston, TX Margarita Cabrera, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | ||
| 2006 | Desert Dreams, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| 2005 | Margarita Cabrera, Adair Margo Gallery, El Paso, TX | ||
| 2004 | VOCHO, Sara Meltzer Gallery New York, NY Women and Their Work, Austin, TX | ||
| 2003 | Appliance: all tools must be kept ready for instant use, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| 2002 | Dynamic Peripheries, Plan b Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM | ||
| 1999 | Cazanovia, Cazanovia College, NY | ||
| Group Exhibitions | |||
| 2015 | Icons & Symbols of the Borderland, The Centennial Museum, University of Texas of El Paso, El Paso, TX Art Windows, El Paso International Airport, El Paso, TX The Other Side: Mexican and Chinese Immigration to America, curated by Bridget Bray, Asian Art Society Texas Center, Houston, TX | ||
| 2014 | Pop Departures, curated by Catharina Manchada, Seatle Art Museum, Seatle, Wa Sewing the Line, H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery at El Centro College, Dallas, TX Contemporary Series 2014 in the Here and Now Gallery, Museum of the Southwest, Midland TX In Motion: Borders and Migrations, curated by Rebecca Maksym, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, UT The Other Side: Chinese and Mexican Immigration to America, curated by Nancy Tom and guest curated by Chip Tom, USC Pacific Asian Museum, Pasadena, CA CrossSection: Latino Artists in Texas, curated by Benito Huerta, Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX Tiempo, Zoya Tommy Contemporary, Houston, TX | ||
| 2013 | Art at the Border: 21st Century Responses, curated by Kate Bonansigna, 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, curated by E Carmen Ramos, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. (Catalogue) Traveling (The Patricia and Philip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California, Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City, Utah, Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington, Delaware) Spoken Threads: The Art of Craftivisim, curated Rose Viviano Artrage Gallery, Syracuse, NY Tejanos Contemporary Hispanic Artist of Texas, Longview Museum of fine Arts, Longview, TX Texas Biennial, Blue Star, San Antonio, TX III El Paso/ Cd. Juárez Biennial, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX III El Paso/ Cd. Juárez Biennial, El Museo de Arte en Cd. Juárez, Cd. Juárez Chihuahua México The Violent Bear it Away: 12 Artists Respond to Violence, curated by Jeff Rau, Biola University Art Gallery, La Mirada, CA | ||
| 2012 | Mexicanisim Through Artist’s Eyes, William Patterson University, Wayne, NY Migration, Helen Day Art Center, Stowe, VT Inquisitive Eyes: El Paso Art 1960-2012, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX Threading Needles, Walter Maciel Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 8th International Fiber Biennial, Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia, Ph Testimonios 100 Years of Popular Expression, Museo del Barrio, New York, NY Chain Reaction: Artist Consider the bicycles, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA Mexicanismo Through Artist’s Eyes, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA Teasers: Selected Works from the Pizzuti Collection by Women Artist, Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH | ||
| 2011 | Sculpture Today: New Forces, New Forms, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI Silver: 25th Anniversary Exhibition, curated by Benito Huerta, Arlington, TX Travelers: Objects of Dream and Revelation, curated by Stefano Catalani, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA Go West II, Karine Parket-Lemonyne, Williams Tower Gallery, Houston, TX Go West I, Karine Parket-Lemonyne, UNESCO Center, Paris, France Geared: The Culture of Bicycles, Sun Valley Center, Sun Valley ID 2011 Texas Biennial, Curated by Virginia Ruthledge, Austin, TX and Houston TX Trans/Action, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, TX New Image Sculpture, Curated by Rene Barilleaux, McNay Art Gallery, San Antonio, TX Impressions: Prints made in Texas, The Gallery at the University of Texas of Arlington, Arlington, TX | ||
| 2010 | El Grito (The Cry for Independence), University of Arkansas at Little Rock, AR Critical Stitch, Mandeville Gallery at Union College, Schenectady, NY In Lieu of Unity, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, TX Ladies First, Art Palace, Houston, TX Ni Una Mas: The Juarez Murders, The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel University Philadelphia, PA Critical Stitch, Mandeville Gallery at Union College, Schenectady, NY Identity Based Vertigo, Walter Maciel Gallery, Showroom B261, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA Go West, Salt Lake Art Center, Salt Lake City, UT | ||
| 2009 | In Stitches, Curated by Beth DeWoody, Lelia Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York, NY Political Draw, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Status Report, Curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, BRIC Contemporary Art, Brooklyn, NY Fresh from Chelsea, University Galleries, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL A Season in Hell. One Must Be Absolutely Modern, Rudolph Projects Artscan Gallery, Houston, The Chicana/o Biennial, MACLA, San Jose, CA State Fair, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY | ||
| 2008 | Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement, curated by Howard Fox, Rita Gonzalez and Chon Noriega, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (catalogue). Traveling (Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City, Mexico, Museo de Alameda, San Antonio, TX, Phoenix Art Museum, AZ, Museo de Arte de Zapopan in Guadalajara, Mexico, El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY) Road Trip, Curated by Kristen Evangelista, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA Modern Art. Modern Lives. Then + Now, Curated by Jim Housefield and Dana Friis-Hansen, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX A Declaration of Immigration, Curated by Cesáreo Moreno, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL International Artist-In-Residence New Works: 08.1 Regina Jose Galindo, Rodney McMillian, Margarita Cabrera, Curated by Franklin Sirmans, Artpace, San Antonio, TX Eligible Traffic, Trinity University Art Gallery, San Antonio, TX Inlandia, Wignall Museum at Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA Car Culture, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ | ||
| 2007 | Collector's Choice III. Audacity in Art: Selected Works from Central Florida Collections, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, FL Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Trabajo Mexicano/Mexican Work, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Ketchum, ID Nexus Texas, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Houston, TX Arthouse Texas Prize 2007, Arthouse, Austin, TX Sonatube, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA The Border in Painting, Sculpture and Photography, Adair Margo Gallery, El Paso, TX Sister Cities: Testing Boundaries, curated by Christian J Gerstheimer, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX Margarita Cabrera and Billy Hassell, curated by Benito Huerta, The Gallery at the University of Texas at Arlington, TX | ||
| 2006 | Frontera 450+, Curated by Rosalinda Gonzalez, The Station Museum, Houston, TX Texas 100: Selections from the El Paso Museum of Art Part 2, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso TX. Explorations, Explorations, curated by Edward Cella, Edward Cella + Architecture (ECAA), Santa Barbara, CA Prevailing Climate, curated by Rachel Gugelberger and Jeffrey Walkowiak, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY Macy's Windows Project, curated by Gabrielle Bryers, Macy's, New York, NY Gimme Shelter, curated by Megan Riley in a house designed by Mike Latham, Shelter Island Heights, New York, NY Moved by the Machine: Art Inspired by the Automobile, curated by Josephine Shea, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque IA Welcome Home, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY As Good As Your Next Gig, Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | ||
| 2004 | I-10, Houston to L.A., McClain Gallery, Houston, TX Cleanliness, curated by Adam Frank, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY Domicile, curated by Jim O'Donnell and Mike Sweeney, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, Washington Twang: Contemporary Sculpture from Texas (catalogue), Organized by C. Sean Horton, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont,TX Domestic Odyessy (catalogue), Curated by JoAnne Northrup, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA Borderlands, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX | ||
| 2003 | Blanc, curated by Odalis Valdivieso, Mexican Institute of Culture, Washington D.C.: Design District, Miami FL Piece of Work: Fiber and Multiples, Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX CORPORAL: Contemporary Women Artists from Latin America, curated by Giannina Dwin Schmidt Gallery, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL Critical Consumption, Curated by Jonathan Allen, Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY | ||
| 2002 | The S-Files, El Museo Del Barrio, New York, NY It's a Glamorous Life, The Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, TX Mix Series Wall Power, The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art, Dallas, TX | ||
| 2001 | Two to Tango, 2001, Times Square Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| 2000 | Paperveins Biennial 2000, HERE Art, New York, NY Weight as Real, House Gallery, Long Island City, NY | ||
| 1999 | War, Artist Bulletin Board, Postmasters, New York, NY Staff Show, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY | ||
| 1998 | Par Avion, Hunter College, New York, NY | ||
| 1997 | BFA Exhibition, Hunter College, New York, NY Young Artists Exhibition, New World Art Center, New York, NY | ||
| Public Art | |||
| 2012-2015 | Uplift, public art commission by the City of El Paso for the Country Club and Memory Lane Roundabout, El Paso, Texas | ||
| 2012 | Uprooted Dreams, public art commission by the City of Austin for the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, Austin, Texas |