Despacio’s mission is to keep doing what it has been doing for the past decade: consistently exploring new models of artistic and curatorial practice while remaining a driving force in the continued development of Central America’s artistic voice.
Visit
Location
Avenida Central - Calle 11
San José, Costa Rica
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Directions
Contiguo a la Panadería Colombiana
Edificio Patrón de Zebra 4to Piso
Opening Hours
Thursday & Friday 2–6pm and
Avenida Central - Calle 11
San José, Costa Rica
→ Show map
Directions
Contiguo a la Panadería Colombiana
Edificio Patrón de Zebra 4to Piso
Opening Hours
Thursday & Friday 2–6pm and
Team
Federico Herrero
Founder of Despacio
Sandino Scheidegger
Curator at Large
Erno Hilarion
Exhibition Manager
Cristina Ramírez
Production
Founder of Despacio
Sandino Scheidegger
Curator at Large
Erno Hilarion
Exhibition Manager
Cristina Ramírez
Production
9.9392299000
-83.9956256000
Studio Javier Calvo
Happened in January 2018
San José
Studio Visit: Javier Calvo
For Costa Rican artist Javier Calvo (b. 1981), art is not made, it happens. It is an opportunity for change, something akin to what Alain Badiou calls a promise. This approach, which takes root in the ways we imagine and tell stories about ourselves, allows the artist to address the collectively established myths, practices, and policies that he sees leading us – often rapidly – to dehumanization.
ThoughtsThoughts
Calvo’s work is marked by a certain nostalgia, exploring how the ruins, defeats, and sorrows of life shape how we perceive others, face our experiences, and succumb to the archetypes that precede us. Yet he remains political, carving critiques and observations into his work that allow him to strategically comment the world he inhabits, and propel it someplace new.
Therein lies the promise of Javier Calvo: he is never afraid to hope for something better. The spaces he constructs embrace art’s critical potential and memorial power to lead our imaginations elsewhere, always hoping to catch a glimpse of some possible utopia – whether it be rooted in the haunting echo of days past or the familiar promise of those to come.
InformationInformation
Javier Calvo was born in 1981 in San José. He lives and works in San Ramon de Tres Ríos, Costa Rica. Learn more about Calvo on the web, or Instagram, or contact him by e-mail.
Javier Calvo is the recipient of the 2018 Random Institute Travel Award.
Javier Calvo has had solo shows at MADC Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo de Costa Rica (San José), Galería Nacional (San José), Kiosko Galería (Santa Cruz de la Sierra), and Réunion (San José). His works have been on display at LAXART (Los Angeles), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Sies + Höke (Düsseldorf), Despacio (San José), Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam (Havana), Teor/éTica (San José), Bienal de Curitiba (Curitiba), Bienal de Pontevedra (Pontevedra), Central American Biennial (Limón), and Bienal Internacional de Asunción (Asunción). He won the Random Institute Travel Award, the Salón Nacional art prize at the Museo de Arte Costarricense and the National Award J. Aquileo Echeverrí.Collaborators
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