Roberto Cabrera (b. 1939 in Guatemala City; d. 2014 in Guatemala City) was one of the most influential artists in Guatemala during the second half of the 20th century. While deeply engaged in the materiality of art, his approach was crossed by in-depth research, academic writing, and pedagogy. He was one of the founders—with Marco Augusto Quiroa and Elmar Rojas—of Grupo Vertebra in 1969; an influential art collective that reflected on the political commitment of the artists during one of the cruelest military dictatorships in Latin America. Cabrera’s practice was also influential to a generation of artists in the Central American region, having lived and taught in exile for several years in San José, Costa Rica. His practice engaged with pre-Hispanic and colonial imagery while deploying a reflection on the postcolonial condition. He worked with assemblage, collage, and what he called “escul-to-pinturas,” transforming bidimensional paintings into objects by inflicting punctures or tears on the canvas. Cabrera developed an extraordinary language engaged with Mayan history, that questioned racist stereotypes still prevailing in Guatemalan society today.
