Roberto Fabelo  (Cuban, 1950) 

Roberto Fabelo (Cuban, b.1951) was born in Camagüey, Cuba, and is known for his illustrations, ceramic work, sculptures, and paintings. He studied at the Superior Art Institute of Havana and graduated from The National Art School in 1972. In 1981, he graduated from the Higher Studies Arts Institute in Havana, where he studied engraving.

Fabelo is well-known in his home country and has received critical praise for the etching Sueno de sirena, which features a sleeping mermaid surrounded by ships and sailing vessels. The artist has been the recipient of many awards, including the Armando Reverón International Prize on Drawing in 1984. The following year, he received the Abel Santamaría Medal. Fabelo is the youngest person to receive the National Visual Art Award in Cuba and is one of the country's most famous artists. He has served as a professor and jury member for many important national and international visual arts contests.

Fabelo works with a variety of mediums, including watercolors, ink, bronze, and oil paint. Many of his pieces feature female subjects, water, and birds. De costa a costa is a pastel drawing featuring a woman wearing a bird with outstretched wings on her head. This is a typical representation of his work. Fabelo received the UNESCO Promotion of the Plastic Arts award in 1996 and the National Prize for Plastic Arts in 2004.

The artist’s pieces have been shown at many galleries, including Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in La Habana, the Modern Art Museum of New Delhi in India, and the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City. He has been featured in more than 24 solo exhibitions around the world, and his work is in high demand. One of his sculptural pieces entitled Survival is on display at the Havana Fine Arts Museum. It features cockroaches with human heads climbing on of the walls. In 2007, he was commissioned by author Gabriel García Márquez (Colombian, b.1927) to illustrate his novel Cien años de soledad. Fabelo’s work has been described as fantasy combined with Surrealism and Expressionism. He currently lives and works in Havana, Cuba.