The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, is proud to present a solo exhibition by Afro-Cuban artist Roberto Diago entitled La Historia Recordada. The exhibition will feature artworks, lectures, and films in addition to being connected with a larger college-wide program, Cuba en el Horizonte. The exhibition is on view from January 19 – March 3, 2018.
Roberto Diago’s work is often a direct criticism of racism in Cuba and explores the roots and role of slavery in Cuban history and culture. His work frequently contains found materials from neighborhoods in Havana near his home and studio. Raw materials such as wood, metal, and textiles make up much of his work — often these materials contain traces of their former uses, such as paint or building materials. Diago tracks a lineage of painterly abstraction and other forms in modern Cuban art, condensing them into a body of work that explores the vestiges of slavery and segregation in contemporary Cuban life. This exhibition is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
According to Halsey Institute director, Mark Sloan, “as an Afro-Cuban artist, Roberto Diago addresses both the visible and invisible strands of racial oppression of Cuba’s slave past through his work. He does so in a muted, understated, and abstract manner that loses none of its rage or fury through this symbolic rendition.”
More information can be found at halsey.cofc.edu.
La Historia Recordada continues at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art (161 Calhoun Street, Charleston, South Carolina) through March 3.
