Glass Houses 14: Margarita Cabrera

Left to right: Brian Fleetwood, “Pvkpvke” 2023. Jonah Hill, “Paa’qwa Prayers,” 2023. Ana M. Lopez, “Pneumatic Trailer Bolo with Seedpod Plumb Bobs,” 2023. Hannah Reynoso Toussaint, “Genderless Bolo,” 2023. Jodi Webster, “It Will Always Be Skunk Hill,” 2023. Photos by Dasha Wright.

Left to right: Vanessa Miller, “Leet the Overflow be Enough,” 2023. Jillian Moore, “Mons Bola,” 2023. James Thurman, “Memento Mori Bolo,” 2023. Wyatt Nestor-Pasicznyk, “A Wilder Blue,” 2023. Ger Xiong/Ntxawg Xyooj, “Re/search,” 2023. Photos by Dasha Wright.

Sulo Bee, “$P4CE✩彡C0W[bb]_DR3AMZ,” 2023, steel, silver, copper, maple wood, rubber, epoxy, geode crystals. 20 x 5 x .5 in. Photo by Dasha Wright.

J Taran Diamond, “Pavement Princess,” 2023, braiding hair, dyed silicone, anodized titanium, cultured freshwater pearls, thread. 20.5 x 2.25 x .5 in. Photo by Dasha Wright.

Sean Eren, “Carapace,” 2023, sterling silver, olive wood, stainless steel, aluminum, oil-impregnated bronze, chrome tanned leather. 16.5 x 2.25 x .75 in. Photo by Dasha Wright.

Following in the path of her signature monarch butterflies, artist Margarita Cabrera just migrated from El Paso to Houston where she’s teaching sculpture at the University of Houston. The day I arrived at Cabrera’s El Paso studio, she was packing up, taking care of her son’s fever and being mindful of his doctor’s appointment. Her studio is in a refurbished hen house nestled in a beautiful wooded area of El Paso. Needless to say we had to talk and take photographs as quickly as we could. Even in the hustle of our visit Cabrera made me feel welcome as we drank homemade lemonade while discussing her work and her move to Houston.

“My artistic passion started from a young age when I was educated in
the Montessori system, I think that is where it all began.” – MC

Margarita Cabrera was born in Monterrey, Mexico and currently lives and works in Houston TX. She received her MFA from Hunter College. Cabrera was a 2008 ArtPace resident and is the recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant. Her work explores the provocative issues of border relations, Mexican immigration and particularly ideas of economic exchange, dislocation and notions of the “American dream.”

Everett Taasevigen is a Houston photographer.

Also by Everett Taasevigen:

Glass Houses 13: Hana Hillerova

Glass Houses 12: Leslie Wilkes

Glass Houses 11: Julie Speed

Glass Houses 10: Bert Long

Glass Houses 9: Steve Brudniak

Glass Houses 8: David Aylsworth

Glass Houses 7: Jill Pangallo

Glass Houses 6: Nestor Topchy