José-María Cano

Born 1959 in Madrid, Spain

 

José María Cano (b. Madrid 1959) is internationally known for his ongoing series of paintings, The Wall Street 100, one hundred life-size portraits made
from paraffin wax. Among Cano’s subjects are François Pinault, Alan Greenspan, Barack Obama and Bernard Madoff, each selected for their perceived level of global economic power. In contrast to the grand themes of power and money addressed by Cano in The Wall Street 100, the delicate ink on paper drawings that make up La Tauromaquia are intimate and small. They depict matadors, picadors, bulls and the arena in the preparation for and performance of ‘la corrida’ while conveying the Act of Faith and pageantry involved.
 


Cano has spent time watching bullfights and befriended many of those involved in the event, from famous toreros to breeders of the Spanish ‘toro bravo’. He follows Goya, Picasso, Lorca, Hemmingway and Orson Welles who are among those writers and artists inspired by the bullfight, fascinated by the ceremony of the event, rather than the controversy that surrounds it.



José-María Cano, Ink drawing taken from “La Tauromaquia” series – Ink on paper 40 x 50cm, 2009.