Costa Rica Fine Art – Are there any famous Costa Rican artists?

Costa Rica is a very young country, and as a result of is relatively recent independence most of the areas which a country normally utilizes in order to create its own culture still very young.

However, in the last century Costa Rica has proudly presented to the world several artists that, with their unique way to perceive and represent the culture of our country, have taken the artistic view of Costa Rica to a different level and gained international recognition, prizes and most important: respect.

Costa Rican art offers different levels of techniques and perspectives, starting from the rural landscaping of the Central Valley to the most modern and abstract view of the day to day experiences in the country. The variety is wide, and an important amount of artwork have been exhibited in countries such as England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, United States, etc.

Recognitions have been granted to Costa Rican artists by world wide respected entities such as the Organization of American States, Unesco, Harvard University and Vatican, among others, this select list of awards has also given the right and honor to many Costa Rican artists to be included as mandatory references of universal art literature as is the case of Jorge Gallardo (1924-2002), included in the book “The Art and The Man” by Rene Huygke, Honorary Chief of Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

The strong skills and unlimited vision of Costa Rican artists and art in general are also appreciated by artists of other countries that had chosen this country as their source of inspiration and location to launch their art; this is the reason why Alvaro Bracci, originally from Italy, picked Costa Rica to grow his artwork, and currently is one of the most important artists of the country.

The list of Costa Rican icons of art includes names as Jorge Gallardo, Rafael “Felo” Garcia and Fabio Herrera, respected members and pillars of the Costa Rican artwork, and young and talented values as Sergio Gonzalez and Luis Chacon whom all together had brought to the Costa Rican Culture and important position in the world when it comes to Fine Art.

Are there any paintings from these artists available?

Due to deserved value acquired by some of the Costa Rican artists, their masterpieces have reached really high prices, sometimes affordable only for a selected group of art collectors, however, you can still find original artwork from these artist at a very affordable prices, thanks to the limited edition, hand made and most important of all hand signed by the artists screen printings.

Screen-printing as we know it today evolved from stencil printing, one of the oldest of all printing methods. Early Japanese and Chinese hand cut stencils were so complex that they were held together with small silk threads. Eventually the stencil pieces were adhered to an open weave silk fabric stretched over an open frame. Ink was forced through the screen to create the print. It was not until the 1930’s that screen-printing started to be used as an artistic medium in the United States.

Under the Work Projects Administration, a group of artists in New York City explored the creative possibilities of the medium for painters and printmakers. It was at that time that an art historian coined the term serigraph. “Seri” is from the Latin word for silk, and “graph” from the Greek word graphos, to draw or write.

Serigraph became the preferred method for almost every artist in the world to reproduce their artwork always observing the highest quality and level of detail that faithfully represents the quality of the masterpiece, that is why every painting comes alone with a certificate of originally, and the serigraphy itself is numbered, named and hand signed by the artist as sign of the approval of the quality of the work, this the way how artist are able to sell a limited edition of their artwork and make a living out of that.

The Costa Rica Fine Art Gallery has put all these elements together: artists, paintings and an online gallery so everybody who loves and recognizes the value of Costa Rican artists and artwork can take to the intimacy of their homes a piece of Costa Rican Culture and History.

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Written by Alexander Valerin Benavidez who has produced limited edition art in Costa Rica for over 13 years and also has extensive experience in art preservation and restoration, including the restoration of San Jose Cathedral.

If you have an interest in Costa Rica fine art and would like to communicate with Alexander to get more information about what’s available and access to their website, please use the form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.