Descarga Cubana | July 12 – September 28, 2025

Abel Barroso (b. Pinar del Río, 1971) graduated from the National School of Arts in 1990, and the Superior Institute of Art in 1995, both in Havana. Barroso has been artist-in-residence at institutions such as the Shenzhen Fine Art Institute in Shenzhen, China; University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida; the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada; Art in General and The Bronx Council of the Arts, both in New York. In 2003, he received the National Curatorship Award, granted by the National Council of Visual Arts of the Cuban Ministry of Culture. He has exhibited at Pan American Art Projects in Miami, Florida; and in Havana at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Villa Manuela Gallery, Servando Gallery, and El Morro Castle during the 7th Havana Biennial (2000). His works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana; the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; and the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas; among other public and private collections.

Luis Enrique Camejo (b. Pinar del Río, 1971) graduated from the Provincial School of Art in Pinar del Río in 1986, the National School of Arts in Havana in 1990, and the Superior Institute of Art in Havana in 1996. From 1996 to 2007 he was a Professor of Painting at the Superior Institute of Art. He has exhibited in Havana at La Cabaña Fortress as part of the 11th Havana Biennial, Villa Manuela Gallery, and Servando Gallery; and at South Border Gallery, Beirut; Godoy World Art Gallery, Madrid; Livingstone Gallery, The Hague; and Gallery 106, Austin, Texas. He received the First Prize at the 5th Nicomedes García Gómez Painting Contest in Segovia, Spain, 2003.

Juan Roberto Diago (b. Havana, 1971) graduated from the San Alejandro School of Fine Arts in 1990. He is a member of the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and the UNESCO International Association of Art (IAA). His works have been exhibited at the National Museum of Fine Arts and Center for the Development of Visual Arts, Havana; Espacio 304 Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico; the Bonaerense Museum, La Plata, Argentina; Cernuda Art Gallery, Coral Gables, Florida; MagnanMetz Gallery, New York; and Marlborough Gallery, New York. In 1997, Diago participated in the 47th Venice Biennial. Among his most distinguished awards are the Third Prize in the Juan Francisco Elso Contemporary Painting Salon (National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba, 1995), the Prix Amédée Maratier (granted for the first time to a Latin American artist by the Kikoïne Foundation, 1999), and the Raul Martinez National Award, granted by the Hermanos Saiz Association to outstanding visual artists under 35 years old (1999). His works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba; Cernuda Arte in Miami, Florida; the Kikoïne Foundation and the Brownstone Foundation, Paris, France as well as in other private and public collections.

Nelson Dominguez (b. Santiago, 1947) studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte Cubanacán from 1965 to 1970, and later became a Professor at the same school until 1985. He has been a Professor and Chair of the Painting Department at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), where he has headed a group of professors specialized in engraving. He is a member of the UNEAC and the International Association of Visual Artists (AIAP).

Domínguez has been lauded with various Cuban national awards, including a 1984 prize bestowed by the Alejo Carpentier Cultural Promotion Center in Havana, Cuba. He has also garnered international awards and recognition in France, Bulgaria, Spain, the former Czechoslovakia, and Japan among others. Domínguez has been given more than 20 personal exhibitions. His works are collected by important museums and cultural institutions worldwide. The artist lives and works in Havana, Cuba.

Roberto Fabelo (b. Camagüey, 1951) is a painter, draftsman and sculptor. Fabelo graduated from the National School of Art in 1972 and from the Superior Institute of Art in 1981, both in Havana, Cuba. His vast work has been exhibited in several venues in Cuba and abroad: the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, the Latin Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden; the Nordylland-Bank in Aalborg, Denmark; the University Museum of Chopo and the Modern Art Museum, both in Mexico; the Hispanic Center in Athens, Greece; the Xeito Gallery, the Count-Duke Cultural Center and the Arco International Fair, all in Madrid, Spain; and the Charlotte Moser Gallery in Geneva, Switzerland. His work has been acknowledged with innumerable awards and distinctions includding the Acquisition Prize at the 4th Triennial Exhibition of Contemporary Art in India (1978); the Armando Reverón International Drawing Award at the 1st Havana Biennial (1984); the Drawing Award in Intergraphik-84, Berlin, GDR (1984); the 9th International Drawing Exhibition Award, Rijeka, Yugoslavia (1984); First Prize at the 11th Cleveland International Drawing Biennial, United Kingdom (1993); and the First Prize at the Latin American Watercolor Biennial in Viña del Mar, Chile (1996). In 2004, he received National Visual Arts Award for his lifetime achievements, granted by the Cuban Ministry of Culture.

Ever Fonseca (b. Manzanillo, 1938) is a painter, sculptor and ceramist. He graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Havana in 1967. Fonseca is a member of the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and the UNESCO International Association of Art (IAA). He has served on the board of several international fine arts festivals and has taught painting for more than twenty years. Fonseca has received numerous awards, including the First Prize in Painting at the Salon’70, organized by the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, 1970; the Prix National at the International Painting Festival in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1971; and the First Award at the International “Joan Miró” Drawing Contest in Barcelona, Spain, 1972. In 2012, Fonseca received the National Visual Arts Award for his lifetime achievements, granted by the Cuban Ministry of Culture. His works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Vilnius, Lithuania, the National Museum in Szczecin, Poland; the Museum of Visual Arts in Leipzig, Germany; and the Cuenca Museum of Modern Art in Cuenca, Ecuador, among other important public and private collections.

Alberto Lescay (b. Santiago de Cuba, 1950) graduated from the “José Joaquín Tejada” School of Visual Arts in Santiago de Cuba (1968); the National School of Art in Havana (1973); and the Repin Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia (1979). He is a member of the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC), and the UNESCO International Association of Art (IAA). Lescay is the president of The Caguayo Foundation for Monumental and Applied Arts, an organization he founded in 1995. He was an artist-in-residence of the Gallery 22 for Contemporary Art in Cabriéres-d’Avignon, France, in 2011. His works are part of relevant public and private collections, including the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana; the Bacardí Museum in Santiago de Cuba; and the Fine Arts Museum in Kiev, Ukraine.

Alexis Leyva Machado “Kcho” (b. Nueva Gerona, 1970) graduated from the Elementary Art School of Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, in 1986, and from the National School of Arts in Havana in 1990. Kcho has participated in numerous renowned international biennials, including those in Havana, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Gwangju and Venice. His works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York; the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona; the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain; the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation in Mallorca, Spain; the Ludwig Forum fur Internationale Kunst in Aachen, Germany; the Van Reekum Museum in Apeldoorn, Netherlands; Les Cent Jours d’Art Contemporain of Montreal, Canada; the Galleria Civica di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Turin, Italy; the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Israel; the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, South Korea; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California; the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume in Paris, France; the Gan Gallery in Tokyo, Japan; and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received the Artistic Merit Diploma of the Superior Institute of Art in Havana (2001); the Prize for the Cuban Exhibition at the Biennial of the Caribbean at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2001); the Grand Prize at the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea (1995); and the UNESCO Award for the Promotion of the Arts (1995).

Rigoberto Mena (b. Artemisa, 1961) is known as one of Cuba’s most famous art visionaries. Rigoberto Mena has had Solo Exhibitions in China, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico, Cuba, Spain, France, and Holland, and in the U.S. in Miami, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C, and California. In 2011, Rigoberto’s work was chosen to be a part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of Fine Art in Havana, Cuba. Mena currently lives and works in Havana, Cuba, and is one of the few artists in Cuba to have his own private gallery.

Manuel Mendive (b. Havana, 1944) graduated from the San Alejandro School of Fine Arts in 1963 with a degree in Painting and Sculpture. He is a member of the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and of the UNESCO International Association of Art (IAA). He has taken part in a number of significant events and exhibitions, including The Peacock at the 43rd Venice Biennial (1988); Cuban Painting 1820-1991 in the Siqueiros Cultural Poliforum, Mexico (1991); Surrealists in Latin America at the Boshum Museum, Germany (1994); Waters, Routine and Thought at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana (2002) and The Colors White, Blue, Green and the Color of My Skin at the Museum of Anthropology and History, Yucatan, México (2008). He received the Collective Prize Adam Montparnasse for Young Painters at the 24th Salon de Mai, Paris (1968); the Prix National at the Second International Painting Festival in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France (1970); the “Latin American Space of Paris Gallery” Award at the 1st Havana Biennial (1984) and the International Award at the 2nd Havana Biennial (1986). He was awarded Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France (1994) and received the National Visual Art Award in 2001 for his lifetime achievements, granted by the Cuban Ministry of Culture.

Santiago Rodriguez Olazábal (b. Havana, 1955) studied at the San Alejandro National Academy of Art, and held his first exhibit in 1983. Since then he has mounted 43 solo exhibits and has participated in more than 200 group and invitational exhibits in galleries, art centers, foundations, and museums in Cuba and throughout Europe, North America, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. His works grace notable public and private collections around the globe. Olazábal is a priest of the Ifa Orișas religion, a practice of Nigerian origin brought to Cuba with enslaved populations as early as the 16th century. The tenets of Ifa are at the heart of his life and his artwork. Each material, object, and composition in this work has roots in the meaning and practice of the artist’s spirituality.

Mabel Poblet (b. Cienfuegos, 1986) graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts “San Alejandro” and the University of Art (Instituto Superior de Arte, ISA). She apprenticed in a workshop started by Cuban installation artist Tania Bruguera, an opportunity that brought her together with many of the best known Cuban artists of the day. Poblet’s works are a close examination of her own life – who she is as a Latina growing up in Castro’s Cuba, where she came from, her relationship to the Cuban culture overall. Mabel Poblet’s work can be seen in public collections such as the Contemporary Art Museum of Tampa (FL), the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation in Miami (FL) and the Gilbert Brownstone Foundation in France. She represented Cuba at the Cuban Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

Carlos Quintana (b. Havana, 1966) graduated from the San Alejandro School of Fine Arts, and the Superior Institute of Industrial Design, both in Havana. Some of his most notable solo exhibitions include Images of a Place that Never Existed at the National Arts Club in New York NY, 2015; One at Juan Ruiz Gallery in Miami, Florida, 2013; Obsessions at Atelierhaus in Berlin, Germany, 2012; Nada (Nothing) at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, 2011; 8cho at Habana Gallery in Havana, 2009; Norte (North) at Orange Gallery in Montreal, Canada, 2008; Continuo (Continuous) at Artificial Gallery in Madrid, Spain, 2007; Eventos mentales (Mental Events) at Arcaute Contemporary Art Gallery in Monterrey, Mexico, 2003; and Con la sal en la lengua (Salt on the Tongue) at Gary Nader Gallery in Miami, Florida, 1998. His works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana; the Gilbert Brownstone Foundation in Paris, France; the National Museum of Fine Arts in Panama City, Panama; as well as numerous private collections around the world.

Eduardo Roca Salazar “Choco” (b. Santiago de Cuba, 1949) graduated from the Art Instructors School in 1965 and from the National School of Art in Havana in 1970. He also studied at the School of Arts and Letters at the University of Havana. He has worked as a professor in Havana and offered courses on engraving in Spain and the United States. He is a member of the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and of the UNESCO International Association of Art (IAA). He has organized numerous individual exhibitions in Cuba and abroad. Among the national and foreign awards received by him are the Engraving Award at the National Young Visual Arts Salon (1977), the Honorary Medal at the Graphic Arts Exhibition in Bulgaria (1981), the First Prize for Small Format Engraving in Galicia, Spain (1984), the First Prize in Drawing at the UNEAC National Visual Arts Exhibition (1986), and the Grand Prix at the 4th International Engraving Triennial Exhibition in Kochi, Japan (1999). His works are part of numerous cultural institutions in Cuba and around the world.

José Villa Soberón (b. Santiago de Cuba, 1950) is known for his public sculptures around Havana. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana, and the Academy of Plastic Arts in Prague. He is a professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. His sculptures, paintings, engravings, drawings and designs are held by the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, and in 1996 he was one of the selected artists in the second Trienal Americana de Escultura in Argentina.

Rick Swig presented his first public exhibition in Cuba at the Fresa y Chocolate Cultural Center in Havana in 2015. Since then, his work had been exhibited at Raul Corrales Gallery and Maxima Gallery in Havana, as well as in exhibitions held in Communiagua, Trinidad, and elsewhere. Swig was featured alongside a dozen Cuban painters and sculptors in the exhibition 12+1 and collaborated with artist Nelson Dominguez for the exhibition Visiones Musicales. In 2025, Swig’s work was featured at the Teatro Nacional and the Fabrica D’Arte as part of the Havana Jazz Festival.