And time runs fast…
Even more when new and rewarding projects are taking place in diverse paths. For Fabelo Estudio these first five months of the year have been marked by records, recurring presence in events and outstanding interventions in the public space.
Represented by CernudaArte, a gallery located in Coral Gables, FL, Fabelo's work had a prominent space in the 2019 editions of Art Palm Beach (West Palm Beach, January 16 - 20), Art Wynwood (Miami, February 14- 18), Philadelphia Fine Art Fair (April 4 - 7) and Dallas Art Fair (Dallas, April 11-14).
Another event in which Fabelo had a notorious presence, as is already trend, was the Habanos Festival (Festival del Habano, Havana, February 18 - 22). A piece by the artist, entitled Humo en tus ojos (Smoke in your eyes) and created with acrylics on silk, was auctioned during the opening cocktail of the event. The hammer price doubled the asking price of $ 60,000.00. The work was auctioned for $ 122,500.00 during the event, which was sponsored by Habanos S.A and Cuba Ron. The money was donated to the Cuban Public Health System. This celebratory event was part of the Habanos Week (Semana del Habano) and took place in the Gran Canarias Hall of the Meliá Habana Hotel. Mario José Hernández, the artist’s manager, and Regla Álvarez, administrator of the Habanos House at Meliá Habana Hotel, were in charge of the event’s organization. Habanos S.A.’s presidents, Mr. Luis Sánchez Harguindey and Mr. Inocencio Nuñez, both on the Spanish and Cuban sides, attended the venue.
The XIII Havana Biennial was the perfect frame for a wide display of Fabelo Estudio’s projects, which ranged from the launching of a catalogue regarding Fabelo’s work on paper to an intervention in the public space.
On December 2018 the collector/curator Luciano Méndez exhibited in Havana a selection of one hundred works on paper by Fabelo: watercolors, pastels and crayons that bring the viewer into a journey through four and a half decades of creative life. The most important event for the visual arts in Cuba, the Havana Biennial, was the ideal setting for introducing the catalogue of this exhibition, coordinated by Fabelo Estudio and with Laura Llópiz and Pepe Menéndez as graphic designers.
Three of the most remarkable collateral exhibitions during the Biennial included some of Fabelo's work. For Detrás del Muro (Behind the Wall), the artist commissioned ASU Bronze (foundry located in Miami, Florida) to produce an sculpture more than 16 ft. length entitled AMTBC (A mal tiempo buena cara)—In bad weather, a good face (while you may not change your situation, you can definitely change your attitude)—, a giant turtle resting on his carapace and smiling. A tower of more than 13 ft. height made with metal objects intervened with drawings was part of HB, group show held at the Gran Teatro de La Habana. For its part, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana contributed to the event with a set of exhibitions for which the curators took as leitmotiv the topic "Infinite possibilities: thinking about the nation". The work of Fabelo included in this set of exhibitions is part of the collection of this institution.
And as the most recent note, on Wednesday, May 22, Christie's Auction House set a new record for Fabelo's work. An oil on canvas of large format, entitled Volutas, was included among the lots of the Latin American Art Auction in New York, and was sold for $ 300,000.00, a figure that exceeds the $250,000.00 and $275,000.00 achieved in previous occasions with this type of pieces, considering dimensions and date.
Volutas, 2015. Óleo sobre lienzo. 78 ¾ x 106 ¼ in. (200 x 270 cm)