“We were two teenage political refugees from Cuba who found a place to land in New York City where we were able to have our vision fulfilled.”
That was Ruben Toledo, discussing his decades-long journey with his late wife Isabel Toledo, upon receiving the prestigious Andrew Markopoulos Award, which recognizes outstanding individuals in art and design including retail design, during a ceremony Monday night at the Ralph Pucci International Gallery.
Surrounded by friends, colleagues and creatives he’s collaborated with, Toledo told the crowd of about 200, “If it wasn’t for you and the city of New York, we wouldn’t have been able to do what we did. You inspired us. When we got here in 1967 it was a very different city, but a lot of you were already here, and it was a pleasure of growing up with people around us who were just as creative and forceful and visionary.”
“Ruben and I have been together for like 40 years,” said Pucci. “We started doing mannequins together, then we did furniture together. We did art together. We just had a major show in Miami together. But when I told him that he won the Markopoulos Award, he was so over the moon, and excited, and he said he had a dream that Isabel, his beloved wife, was in a jazz band and playing to him, and then he asked me, would it be possible to get an all-female band tonight? So tonight we have an all-female band, Chica Power” from the Jazz House Kids music school.
In presenting the award to Toledo, Linda Fargo, senior vice president of fashion and director of store presentation at Bergdorf Goodman, said, “Ruben, you really live at the magical intersection of culture, art, bohemia, coolness, warmth and most of all, love.” Fargo said Isabel deeply inspired Ruben, and that his work “reflects the essence of a love that was kindled in their teenage years and remained true for more than five decades.”
Fargo cited the Toledos’ “contribution to the well-being of the creative spirit. No one embodies that more than you.” She went on to recount his multifaceted, prolific career as a painter; sculptor; illustrator; fashion chronicler and critic; designer of mannequins, costumes, theater sets, awards, wallpaper, textiles, scarves, dishes, furniture and store windows. “You also painted on a barn. Life wouldn’t be complete if you hadn’t done that,” said Fargo.
Toledo has also exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Museum at FIT, MOMU in Antwerp, and currently has a show at the National Art Club. Ralph Pucci’s Miami gallery last year showcased Toledo’s works, including 10 watercolor paintings from his “Natural Selections” series, and on the gallery’s facade Toledo painted a large mural titled “I See You — I Love You,” inspired by his beloved late wife. He has received several awards and honors including an honorary doctor of fine arts from Otis College of Art and Design, and a Fashion Group International Entrepreneur award. He is also the author of “Style Dictionary,” a collection of his satirical drawings and watercolors, and he illustrated the Louis Vuitton City Guide for over a decade, among other works.
This year marks the 28th anniversary of the Markopoulos Award launched in 1997, noted Eric Feigenbaum, an editor at Visual Merchandising and Store Design magazine, president of Embrace Design, and former educator. “The award was named after the late Andrew Markopoulos, whose vision inspired an entire generation of retail designers during his tenure as senior vice president, director of visual merchandising and store design for Dayton Hudson,” Feigenbaum said. “Andrew absolutely left an indelible impression on the entire retail design community through his elegance, vision, and dignity; Andrew elevated the profession from a mere trade to a highly respected art form.”
Among those in the crowd were several past Markopoulos award winners: Feigenbaum, Ken Smart, Dan Evans, Anne Kong, Tom Beebe, Judy Bell, Pucci, Fargo, Matthew Yokosuka, James Damien and Christine Belish. Also at the event were Nicole Fischelis, Devin Bruce, Yeohlee, Christian Francis Roth, and Peter Som.
Ralph Pucci, Judy Bell, and Ruben Toledo.
