Diango Hernandez, Düsseldorf, 6th of November 2026

Three days before the opening of West Bund Art & Design, Wizard Gallery was informed that my works could not be exhibited. All artworks had already been shipped from Italy to China, fees paid, and substantial financial commitments made.

The fair attributed the exclusion to a decision by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism concerning “anonymous reports.” Despite our requests, the correspondence received has neither identified the specific social media posts considered problematic nor provided the underlying official decision.

The gallery was offered the possibility of showing ten other approved works. With my exclusion fundamentally undermining its planned exhibition and commercial viability, Wizard decided to withdraw. It now faces substantial losses and the expense of returning all artworks to Europe.

As a Cuban artist working with Venezuelan art dealer Federico Luger, this situation has a particular personal resonance. We ask straightforward questions: who decides what may be shown, on what grounds, and what opportunity does an artist have to respond?

We sought dialogue and received no specific explanation. I consider this exclusion an act of censorship and I am making these circumstances public because they deserve scrutiny.

The works were prevented from reaching their intended audience in Shanghai. They should now be seen—and the decision that excluded them should be explained.

Diango Hernández (born in Cuba, 1970) lives and works between Düsseldorf and Milan. He began his artistic practice in Cuba in 1994, with early work reflecting on the collapse of the socialist bloc and its profound impact on his home country. His work has been presented at the Venice, Sydney, and São Paulo biennials, with solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Basel, Museum Morsbroich, and Kestner Gesellschaft. His works are held in major collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Inhotim, Brazil; and the Federal Collection of Contemporary Art, Germany. He received the Rubens-Förderpreis in 2009.