Roberto Diago to Represent Cuba at 2026 Venice Biennale with 'Hombres Libres'

Cuba has selected artist Roberto Diago to represent the nation at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. His project, titled 'Hombres Libres / Free Man,' is an installation featuring sculptural heads made from oxidized metal, wood, plastic, and found materials, marked with raised scars. Curated by Nelson Ramirez de Arellano Conde and commissioned by Daneisy García Roque, the pavilion will be located at Il Giardino Bianco – Art Space on Via Garibaldi, between the Giardini and the Arsenale, open from May 9 to November 22, 2026. Diago, born in Havana in 1971, studied at the San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts and is a professor at the University of the Arts (ISA) and a member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. His work explores the legacy of the African diaspora and contemporary forms of oppression. He has exhibited at Harvard University, the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana, and Casa de América, with works in collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Museo Reina Sofía. The installation uses scarred surfaces as a metaphor for survival, memory, and resistance, asserting that freedom is a continuous conquest rather than a passive state.