Gioconda Rojas

GIOCONDA ROJAS HOWELL

CURRICULUM VITAE

GENERAL INFORMATION

Full Name: Gioconda Rojas Howell

Nationality: Costa Rican

Place of Birth: San José, Costa Rica

Year of Birth: 1967

Profession: Visual Artist

Areas of Practice: Painting, Installation, Assemblage, Works on Paper, and Contemporary

Art

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Gioconda Rojas Howell is a distinguished Costa Rican visual artist whose work occupies an important place within the contemporary art scene of Costa Rica.

Her artistic practice is characterized by an ongoing exploration of memory, spirituality, identity, and the human experience. Through painting, installation, objects, and material and conceptual experimentation, she has developed a deeply poetic and highly personal visual language.

Her work creates spaces for contemplation in which silence, light, transparency, and texture engage in dialogue with both collective and individual memory, resulting in a body of work distinguished by sensitivity and formal refinement.

With more than three decades of artistic experience, Gioconda Rojas Howell has maintained a consistent presence in significant national and international exhibitions, establishing herself as one of the recognized Costa Rican artists working within the field of contemporary Latin American art.

EDUCATION

University of Costa Rica

School of Fine Arts

Degree in Graphic Arts

San José, Costa Rica

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

National Theatre of Costa Rica

1990–2000

During this period, she worked in several areas related to Costa Rica’s artistic and cultural heritage, including:

• Art Restoration

• Stage Photography

• Set Design

• Museum Exhibition Design

• Member of the Curatorial Board

• Heritage Conservation

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida, United States

2002–2008

Art Professor

During her time in the United States, she taught art courses and developed research related to contemporary art education, further contributing to her professional and international experience.

ARTISTIC PRACTICE

Gioconda Rojas Howell’s work has developed through a variety of media and forms of expression, including:

• Painting

• Assemblage

Installation

• Works on Paper

• Mixed Media

• Objects

• Spatial Exploration

Her artistic language explores themes and concepts related to:

• Memory

• Time

• Spirituality

Identity

• Silence

• The Inner Landscape

• Human Fragility

• Light

• Space

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Gioconda Rojas Howell has presented solo exhibitions in:

• Costa Rica

• The United States

• Guatemala

• Panama

Among her notable exhibitions is:

Caligrafía Interior (Inner Calligraphy)

Gallery of the Rector’s Office

University of Costa Rica

She has also presented various solo exhibitions in private galleries and institutional spaces in Costa Rica and the United States.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Gioconda Rojas Howell has participated in important group exhibitions in:

• Costa Rica

• Guatemala

• Honduras

• El Salvador

• Panama

• Mexico

• The United States

• Spain

• Switzerland

Her work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, cultural institutions, and international art fairs.

INTERNATIONAL ART FAIRS

Art Santa Fe

United States

Solo Artist Project

COLLECTIONS

Gioconda Rojas Howell’s work forms part of private and institutional collections in:

• Costa Rica

• The United States

• Europe

• Latin America

Her work is also represented in corporate collections and in the collections of distinguished international collectors.

AREAS OF ARTISTIC RESEARCH

• Contemporary Painting

• Spirituality and Art

• Visual Memory

• Spaces of Contemplation

• Materiality

• Transparency

• The Relationship between Void and Matter

CHARACTERISTICS OF HER WORK

Gioconda Rojas Howell’s artistic production is characterized by:

• Expansive Fields of White

• Transparency

• Glazing

• Subtle Textures

• Chromatic Restraint

• Minimalist Compositions

• Conceptual Depth

• Technical Refinement

• Material and Conceptual Exploration

• A Poetic Visual Language

CRITICAL RECOGNITION

Critical responses to Gioconda Rojas Howell’s work have highlighted:

• Her extraordinary sensitivity to color

• The formal refinement of her compositions

• The profound conceptual dimension of her artistic investigations

• Her ability to transform painting into a space for contemplation

• Her contribution to the development of contemporary Costa Rican art

ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHY

Gioconda Rojas Howell’s work represents an ongoing search for the essential.

Through the reduction of visual elements and a carefully balanced relationship between light, emptiness, and matter, the artist creates spaces that invite the viewer into an intimate experience of contemplation, where silence acquires expressive value and memory emerges as a constant presence.

Her artistic production transcends representation to become a reflection on the human condition, the passage of time, and the spiritual dimension of existence.

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE

Her work has been exhibited and is represented in collections in:

• Costa Rica

• The United States

• Guatemala

• Honduras

• El Salvador

• Panama

• Mexico

• Spain

• Switzerland

CURATORIAL SIGNIFICANCE

Gioconda Rojas Howell occupies a distinguished position within contemporary Costa Rican art through the conceptual coherence of her artistic practice and the singularity of a visual language that privileges contemplation and inner experience.

Her work establishes an ongoing dialogue between painting, space, materiality, and the human experience, resulting in a body of work distinguished by aesthetic maturity and formal refinement.

Her artistic production represents a significant contribution to contemporary Costa Rican and Latin American art, reflecting a sustained exploration of memory, spirituality, identity, and the essential relationship between light, matter, and space