The Juannio 2023 competition and auction, which has been taking place since 15 June in Guatemala, is coming to an end and two Costa Rican artists are part of the exhibitions.
The Costa Rican artists DinoUrpí and Javier Martén were selected among 100 other artists from Latin American countries such as Guatemala, Colombia, Cuba, and El Salvador.
The competition, as every year, has been a great success. We recall that for 59 years now, it has been providing special support to the Neurological Institute of Guatemala, where children and young people with intellectual disabilities who do not have financial resources are cared for. For the last three years, the admirable social work has been joined by co-sponsors: Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala (BAM), BMI, and Grupo Cofiño.
Undoubtedly, in 2023 Juannio has been extraordinary because of its organization and because they keep extending opening hours so that everyone can visit the various exhibitions. If you are Tico you have time to go with pride to enjoy the contest and the art, especially of Dino and Javier.
The closing date will be the 15th of July.
Javier Martén and his limitless creativity…
Javier is a native of Costa Rica, as a child he lived with his parents in the Los Yoses neighborhood of San Pedro.
From his childhood, he remembers living in a house surrounded by a large garden, where his mother gave painting classes to children downstairs. When Javier came home from school, he would always paint before going upstairs.
His mother taught him to paint and his father taught him to always be responsible and not to leave things for later.
We had a very pleasant conversation with the Costa Rican artist, who draws his inspiration for each project from nature and his people.
It turns out that he took art courses from a very young age; he studied architecture and later graduated as a landscape architect. He worked in DLlas and Miami, then returned to Costa Rica to start his landscape architecture firm. In 2011 after doing some courses in New York, his career took a better turn professionally until today.
So, what motivated Javier Martén in the world of art and architecture?
As we mentioned, the artist has been interested in architecture since he was a child, “Since I was a child I have been interested in architecture, nature, and art, so much so that as memories he emphasized that he used to go and pose with his grandmother, who was a great artist just like his mother; he liked to paint buildings surrounded by mountains and cities of the future.
Today, Martén is characterized as an artist who is passionate about communicating, “expressing creatively, a concept with a positive background to raise awareness,” he said.
He likes to intuitively paint abstract forms influenced by nature and the universe, figures, or invented entities that do not exist.
Art today and the different digital platforms to show it.
For Javier, creativity is, of course, the most important thing: “Technology nowadays is a great help for some projects, especially Artificial Intelligence, although it’s something I need to explore more”.
The selection process at Juannio 2023
A selection of 2 paintings by Javier was made, from which they chose one called Transformation, this painting represents the recklessness of human beings in throwing plastic into the sea.
With longings to fulfill, projects in progress, admiration and love for his country…
Among his plans is to continue showing his art nationally and internationally. He is looking to exhibit in galleries in other countries, explore the field of sculpture, continue with the furniture project to which he has been dedicated for some time, and make contributions to fashion design.
Who do you admire in your area and what would you change in Costa Rica today?
Federico Herrero is one of the Costa Rican artists he admires, for his art representing the landscape and his use of color, as well as his positivism towards life. There are many international artists he also admires, to name a few of those he highlighted: Jean Arp, Frank Marc, Francis Bacon, among others.
For him, improving his country is “that people should appreciate more how important art is and what it communicates to the rest of the world”.
Exhibitions and awards
Over the years, Javier has built up an impeccable career that never leaves behind the successes and with them, the awards:
2017 – New International Artistic Realities Award by the Scientific Committee for Artistic Merits, MILÁN, ITALY.
2017 – Francisco Goya International Award by Francesco Saverio Russo, BARCELONA, SPAIN. 2017 – Caravaggio International Award. Palazzo Bramante, Piazza del Popolo, ROME, ITALY
I have been present in art books specifically:
2018 – “New Berliner Art Book”, Berlín, Germany.
2017 – “The Best Modern and Contemporary Artists”, Berlín, Germany.
Present in Public Collections:
Tanto del Museums XXI Zapadores Ciudad del Arte Costa Rica Embassy in Spain y del Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Among his solo exhibitions, we would like to mention some of them:
2022 – “Universo Interno”, Room 37, San José, Costa Rica.
2021 – “Diversa Naturaleza”, Calderón Guardia Museum, San José, Costa Rica.
2019 – “Lo que nos trasciende”, Casa América, Madrid, Spain.
2015 – “Topografías Abstractas”, Klaus SteinmetzContemporary Art, San José, Costa Rica.
And finally, his group exhibitions include:
2022 – “CROMA Biennale”, CRCC, San José, Costa Rica.
2018 – “Present Perfect Continuous”, ZverevContemporary Art Centre, MOSCOW, RUSSIA. 2018 – “The Taste of Art”, GZ Gallery, New York, USA., and 12 more including one in Reino Unido.
2018 – “World Art Dubai Art Fair”, Dubai, UAE.
2018 – “Costa Rican Topographies”, Gallery 76, Dubai, UAE.
2018 – “EmbracingRaval”, Galería Zero, BARCELONA, SPAIN
Javier is a talented artist, with infinite creativity, and love for what he does and there is something unique in his career, the focus he has had since he was a child and that today has led him to achieve so much.
His message defines him fully and in his opinion “In life, you have to do what you like the most and have perseverance, regardless of the obstacles that arise along the way”.
My message is to do what you like the most and to have perseverance no matter what obstacles arise along the way.
To find out more about the Juannio contest you can follow them on their Instagram @juanniogt and website www.juannio.org; the Instagram of one of the selected artists is @javiermarten.
