Geles Cabrera

Ángeles María Cabrera Alvarado (2 August 1926 – 1 September 2026) was a Mexican sculptor who worked in a variety of materials; a museum dedicated to her work is in the south of the city.

Background Geles Cabrera was born in Mexico City on 2 August 1926, to Salvador Cabrera and Jovita Alvarado. Her father was a civil engineer and the owner of a factory that made paper mache decorations in art an nouveau style for upper-class homes.

Her interest in art began young and was encouraged by the family. Geles’s interests included music well as visual art, studying both dance and visual arts. From 1943 to 1947, she studied mornings at the Academy of San Carlos, and in the afternoons/evenings, she studied classical and folk dance at the Escuela de Danza, which was at the Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market. In 1947, her father had to close the factory and the family moved to Cuba, where he worked building bridges. In this country, she continued her art studies at the San Alejandro Academy, where she met Wifredo Lam. In 1948 and 1949, she won second then first place at the Salón de Bellas Artes in Havana.

The family returned to Mexico in 1949, and Geles enrolled into Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". During this time, movie actress Dolores del Río decided to pose for a select group of students, with Geles being one. The artist created a bust that pleased the actress’s mother and which accompanied Del Río during her career. Cabrera married physician Rafael Cano, who supported her work during their 65 years of marriage. The couple had five children.

Career Csbrera had her first individual exhibition at the Mont Orendaín Gallery (Colonia Roma) in 1949. Paul Westheim, commenting about the exhibition, said, "Lehmbruck, Brancusi, Lipschitz, Moore: Geles has placed herself among them."

She dedicated 37 years to teaching art in the José Vasconcelos National Preparatory School No. 5, part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Ceramist Irma Peralta was among her pupils.

Artistry Cabrera's sculptures focus on the female body in modular shapes. Common themes in her work include love, loneliness and being a mother. First working in clay, metal and stone based on prehistoric art, she used clear lines to emphasize the human form's eroticism. Later, she began using newspaper as an artistic material.