Roberto Fabelo at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana

This January, we celebrate the 85th birthday of Roberto Fabelo (Guáimaro, Camagüey, January 28, 1950), an acclaimed painter, draftsman, engraver, illustrator, and sculptor, recipient of the 2004 National Visual Arts Award.

He is renowned as an exceptional draftsman, creating a theatrical and dreamlike world of allegorical characters. Fabelo achieves coherence in his creative evolution by alternating artistic languages, merging them seamlessly without undervaluing any: drawing, engraving, painting on canvas, wood sculpture, and more.

Memorable exhibitions of his have graced our Museum: from the long-ago Fragmentos vitales (1988) to Fabelo: un poco de mí (May-June 2003) or Mundos (November 2005–January 2006).

Cafedral (2002-2003), a stunning installation of aluminum coffee pots and mirrors, was one of the pieces that adorned the ground floor of the Cuban Art Building for quite some time. Similarly, during the 10th Havana Biennial, his “cockroaches” from Sobrevivientes (2008–2009) took over the façade of the same building.

Source: National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba.