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Painter. After graduating from the University of Boston with a degree in fine arts, Cancio moved to Spain, where he set up his first studio. From 1991 to 2003, he lived in San Francisco, California. He currently lives and works in San Juan. He began to show his work professionally in 1981, and he has presented his work in several cities in the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. He has traveled extensively—recently, to India, where he became more familiar with that country’s art and culture. He has had solo shows at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (1987), the Museum of Art and History in San Juan (1988), and the Museo de las Casas Reales Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic (2004). He has also taken part in group shows in the United States and Puerto Rico. His work is characterized by the use of figuration and its inclusion of pan-Caribbean motifs; his style is poetic.
![La Divina Comedia [Un teatro Atemporal]](https://mapr.org/wp-content/smush-webp/2026/10/06.carloscancio.jpg-850x1024.jpg.webp)
“I am not what is called a political painter, who imposes & criticizes. I don’t have a fight with society, but I do paint society as I see it, which is mixed, and I portray the beauty of this mixture. Because of this it’s subtle and not a struggle. I express well being, and the maximum expression of the human being instead of humanity’s angst or anxiety. I paint people how they should be in my point of view. My paintings are little or big utopias of my own…”
Carlos Cancio
Source: “H20”, Galería Viota, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2005.
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“MCMXCVIII”, Galería Viota, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1998.
“La Vereda Tropical”, Galería Viota, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2001.
“H20”, Galería Viota, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2005.
Alegre Barrios, Mario. “Arte entre veredas y ventanas”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 7 de noviembre de 2004, p. 8.
Alvarez Lezama, Manuel. “Cancio, hechicero y sensual”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 11 de noviembre de 2001.
Delgado, Gloribel. “Comida y erotismo en Carlos Cancio”. Primera Hora (San Juan, PR), 5 de noviembre de 2001, pp. 18-19.
Dávila Estelritz, Adela. “Cancio tiempo y espacio”. Primera Hora (San Juan, PR), 13 de marzo de 2008, pp. 71-72.
Peralta Agüero, Abil. “Carlos Cancio”. Arte al Día (Miami, FL), Núm 101, pp. 2-7.
![La Divina Comedia [Un teatro Atemporal]](https://mapr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/06.carloscancio.jpg.jpg)
