The Chambers Gallery in London will be showing this month a one-man show by Cuban artist Eduardo Roca Salazar (Choco), one of the most outstanding and significant figures in Cuban contemporary visual arts.

This exhibition by Choco -his first one-man show in that European nation- is something of a "preview," because in September 2008, a series of Cuban cultural events will take place in London, including music, film, ballet and visual arts exhibitions, reports Estrella Diaz in the Cubarte website.

Michael Chambers, owner of the above-mentioned gallery, recently traveled to Havana and visited the Taller del Sol workshop, named after the street where it is located, and where Choco currently works.

There, acting as curator, he chose about 50 works of art, most of which are larger than four square meters, on different materials. According to the artist, he is satisfied with his selection and believes that it is a "very interesting exhibition for British eyes."

All of the pieces were made over the last three years, after his one-man show in the National Museum of Fine Arts (2004), titled Abanico de posibilidades (Range of Possibilities), an important moment in his creative activities, a profound look back, given the degree of maturity and the solidity of his creations.

Throughout this year, Choco has participated in several collective exhibitions, and one of them, because of its humane significance, holds special importance: "The one dedicated to the Cuban five, who are unjustly imprisoned in the United States."

He has also illustrated several books and a collection of African short stories. "That work expands your thinking and enriches your work," he affirmed, noting that before the year is over, he plans to travel to his native province of Santiago de Cuba in the east to participate in an exhibition of religious-themed work.

"I think the mystical subject is important, because it nourishes us as human beings and makes us better," he concluded, in statements to Granma daily