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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1999–2000
Research in Japanese performing arts
Kyoto, Japan
Studies Japanese performing arts at Kyoto Seika University with support from the Japan Foundation Scholarship.
2003
Venice Biennale #50
Venice, Italy
Participates in the 50th Venice Biennale — a landmark international presentation of the work.
2008
First Prize in Painting, Chapingo
Chapingo, Mexico
First Prize in Painting at the First Biennial of Contemporary Art, Chapingo, Mexico.
2010
PROARTES Prize
Costa Rica
Awarded the PROARTES Prize by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Costa Rica.
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.
2018
The Border / Immigrants
San José, Costa Rica
Installation and mural work addressing migration narratives from Central America and beyond.
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.
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.
2020
National Prize Francisco Amighetti
Costa Rica
Receives Costa Rica’s National Prize Francisco Amighetti.
2021
Next Season residency
Costa Rica
Artist residency on climate change, “Next Season,” in Costa Rica.
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.
