FABELO'S LITERARY ICONOGRAPHY TAKES OVER THE CERVANTES INSTITUTE
The Cervantes Institute in Madrid presents Roberto Fabelo. Grafomanía, an exhibition featuring 50 works by Roberto Fabelo (Guáimaro, Cuba, 1951), most of them related to literary worlds and dialogues with other artists. The exhibition includes references to Gabriel García Márquez, Miguel de Cervantes, Goya, and Hieronymus Bosch—figures of great influence on the Cuban artist’s work.
The exhibition spans nearly a decade of Fabelo’s work, highlighting twenty drawings on printed paper — selected from over 150 displayed works — that showcase his remarkable illustration technique. It also underscores his versatility in the use of materials and surfaces, including paper, silk, Kraft paper, and even large-scale sculptures—such as the imposing rhinoceros at the exhibition’s entrance.
Roberto Fabelo. Grafomanía explores the dreamlike and imaginary elements that connect with the literary universes of Cervantes and García Márquez. The latter was a close friend of Fabelo and entrusted him with illustrating a special edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude. This literary influence continues with Metamorphosis, inspired by Kafka, where the novel’s famous protagonist is reimagined as a two-headed figure.
Beyond literary references, the exhibition also presents other creatures and figures born from Fabelo’s imagination, forming a world that has become his signature style. Notable examples include Encadenado, depicting a person almost entirely bound in chains, and Venganza, where human and natural forces merge into irrational, Boschian-inspired beings.
The exhibition also features drawings on metal cauldrons, where everyday objects become artistic canvases. From The Struggle Continues to a portrait of his wife, Suyu, waving the Cuban flag atop a rooster, each piece carries the memory of its past use. These works stand alongside acrylics on embroidered silk and sixteen crayon drawings on cardboard, offering a rich and representative selection of Fabelo’s iconographic universe.
Roberto Fabelo. Grafomanía is open to visitors until May 11 at the Instituto Cervantes, Alcalá 49, Madrid, Spain.
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