University Awards 2026: Jorge Cocco

Jorge Cocco Santángelo – Honorary Alumni Award

Jorge Cocco Santángelo is an internationally distinguished painter and art educator. He is the originator of sacrocubism, a distinctive style that fuses sacred subject matter with the aesthetic principles of Cubism. Cocco has exhibited widely across the Americas and Europe. His works are held in numerous collections, including Brigham Young University, the Church History Museum, and the Museum of Biblical Art. His images have appeared on the covers and pages of numerous art and religious publications, and he is the author of several books on art theory and practice. In addition to his artistic career, Cocco contributed to art education through designing the Visual Arts curriculum and serving as an art professor at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico.

Cocco was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1962, becoming a Latter-day Saint pioneer in his hometown of Entre Ríos, Argentina. He has served extensively in Church leadership throughout his life, including three times as a bishop, three times as a branch president, and as a district president. Jorge and his wife Myriam are the parents of six children and have thirteen grandchildren.