Biography
Rossella Matamoros Jiménez is a Costa Rican contemporary artist based in San José. Her practice spans drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, mixed media, performance, set design, and video.
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1983
Licenciatura in Fine Arts
San José, Costa Rica
Completes a Licenciatura in Fine Arts at the University of Costa Rica — the academic foundation of a practice that would later move across drawing, painting, installation, performance, and video.
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1987–1988
Printmaking study in Paris
Paris, France
Certification in etching and drawing at the École des Beaux Arts and the École des Arts Décoratifs, supported by a French Government Scholarship.
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1988–1992
Master of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., USA
Earns an MFA at George Washington University on a Fulbright Scholarship, extending studio research in the United States.
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1998
National Prize Aquileo J. Echeverría
Costa Rica
Receives Costa Rica’s National Prize Aquileo J. Echeverría — later awarded again in 2003 — recognizing sustained national contribution.
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1999–2000
Research in Japanese performing arts
Kyoto, Japan
Studies Japanese performing arts at Kyoto Seika University with support from the Japan Foundation Scholarship.
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2003
Venice Biennale #50
Venice, Italy
Participates in the 50th Venice Biennale — a landmark international presentation of the work.
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2008
First Prize in Painting, Chapingo
Chapingo, Mexico
First Prize in Painting at the First Biennial of Contemporary Art, Chapingo, Mexico.
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2010
PROARTES Prize
Costa Rica
Awarded the PROARTES Prize by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Costa Rica.
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2017
Translucid Seeds
San José, Costa Rica
Installation at the National Museum of Costa Rica engaging Indigenous past and present on the museum’s anniversary.
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2018
The Border / Immigrants
San José, Costa Rica
Installation and mural work addressing migration narratives from Central America and beyond.
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2019
Have You Heard? Have You Felt It?
Museo Calderón Guardia, San José
Installation and painting centered on teenage motherhood and family stories, developed with workshops in San José.
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2020
How Do We See Ourselves in the Mirror?
San José, Costa Rica
Research and exhibition inquiring into institutions and civic mirroring in Costa Rica.
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2020
National Prize Francisco Amighetti
Costa Rica
Receives Costa Rica’s National Prize Francisco Amighetti.
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2021
Next Season residency
Costa Rica
Artist residency on climate change, “Next Season,” in Costa Rica.
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2024
Absence / Creativity
Museo Calderón Guardia, San José
Installation and performance on adolescent mental health, anxiety, and hope, developed after extended workshops with teenagers in Costa Rica.
