Northwestern State University Assistant Professor of Art Edgar Cano presented a figure drawing workshop at Manifest Gallery, a contemporary arts center in Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 20-22 where he led participants in investigating a wide range of drawing tools such as charcoal, conte, graphite, ballpoint pen and ink to experience how each material responds to pressure, movement and the body of the artist.
The workshop included short demonstrations, material-specific exercises and individualized feedback. Students were encouraged to experiment with layering and combining materials to expand their visual language. Group reflection and critique helped reinforce technical discoveries and personal growth.
“Teaching at the Manifest Drawing Centerwas more than a professional invitation; it was a homecoming to the pure, rigorous discipline of the human form,” Cano said. “As a figure drawing professor at Northwestern State, I’ve always believed that my role is to teach people not just how to draw, but how to see—to strip away the labels of ‘nude figure’ or ‘still life’ and encounter the model as a living, breathing landscape of light and shadow.”
Cano has a long history with Manifest Gallery, having participated in three exhibitions, both as a juror and as a selected artist, once winning the Grand Jury Award.
Cano’s work is not easily classified or labeled. He began his career in the visual arts creating illustrations and scenography for university theater while studying at the Faculty of Arts in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Over more than 20 years of professional practice, he has been distinguished in numerous national and international competitions.
In 2025, he received both the Gottlieb Foundation Grant (New York) and the South Arts Fellowship. He has been a member of Mexico’s National System of Art Creators (FONCA–SNCA) twice for a major new painting project. His recent honors include the Grand Jury Award, Manifest Gallery; Best in Show at the 61st Juried Show of the Masur Museum and Best in Show at the 16th Surreal Salon, Baton Rouge Gallery. In 2018, he received a grant from the FONCA Promotion and Co-investment Program for his exhibition El Centro Único. He served as a juror for the National System of Art Creators (FONCA) and was also a juror for the Alfredo Zalce Biennial in Morelia. Additional fellowships include FONCA Young Creators and PECDA Veracruz.
To date, Cano has presented 18 solo exhibitions in Mexico and abroad and been included in over 50 group exhibitions internationally, with exhibitions in Argentina, Canada, England, Italy, Japan, the United States, Serbia and Sweden. His work is held in major public and private collections.
Looking ahead, Cano will be featured in several high-profile exhibitions throughout 2026 that includes a collective show in Veracruz made possible by an award from NSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Gulf Streams Exhibition at the Hilliard Museum in Lafayette running from April 11-Aug. 15 and the Southern Prize & State Fellowship 2025 Exhibition, where he will represent nine states in a collective show at the LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge this summer.
Cano earned a Master of Arts in Visual Arts from Northwestern State, which he attended on a full scholarship. He lives with his family in Natchitoches.