BIOGRAPHY
Jorge Enrique Jiménez Martínez, known in art as Jiménez Deredia, was born in the city of Heredia, Costa Rica, on October 4, 1954. He graduated in sculpture at the Castella Conservatory. His sculptural activity began in the 1970s, producing works that reflect, on one hand, the development of organic forms, their growth, their interaction with the environment and the force of gravity, and on the other hand, his influence from pre-Columbian art. At the age of 22, in 1976, he moved to Italy thanks to a scholarship granted by the Italian government, and began traveling throughout Europe, where he came into contact with the continent's major artistic movements.
BIOGRAPHY
Jorge Enrique Jiménez Martínez, known in art as Jiménez Deredia, was born in Heredia, Costa Rica, on October 4, 1954. He studied sculpture at the Castella Conservatory, where he earned his bachelor's degree. His sculptural activity began in the 1970s, producing works that demonstrate, on the one hand, the development of organic forms, their growth, their reactions to the environment and the force of gravity, and on the other, his influence from pre-Columbian art. At the age of 22, in 1976, he moved to Italy thanks to a scholarship granted by the Italian government, and began traveling throughout Europe, where he came into contact with the continent's major artistic movements.
AN ARTIST'S JOURNEY
FROM COSTA RICA TO EUROPE
Deredia graduated from The Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, and from 1980 to 1986 he attended the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Florence. These years in Florence awakened intellectual stimuli that profoundly changed Deredia's approach to artistic work; and immersed in the Florentine atmosphere, Deredia deepened his interest in the Renaissance period.
This intellectual fervor led him to deeply reflect on his work, and even conceive a new perception of life. His intuition for a globalizing vision of “Being” and the “Universe” is strengthened by the recovery of Costa Rican culture, and in particular, the pre-Columbian spheres of the ancient Boruca culture.
These mysterious artifacts led the sculptor to explore studies involving both form and material, as well as the function and symbolism associated with the sphere and the circle. The phase of artistic renewal was evident in 1986 with the adoption of his art name “Deredia”, a contraction of "de- Heredia," (from Heredia) his hometown.
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GENESIS
INSPIRED BY THE PRE-COLUMBIAN SPHERES OF COSTA RICA
In 1985, Deredia developed his first Genesis works, which describe different phases of the mutation of matter in space over time, thus laying the foundations for his artistic ideology, Transmutative Symbolism. Jiménez Deredia participated in the Venice Biennale in 1988, 1993, and 1999 editions.
This Venetian experience is characterized by his encounter with the renowned art scholar Pierre Restany: the friendship and collaboration that ensued were pivotal for the artistic and intellectual growth of the Costa Rican sculptor.
Together with the French theorist, deredia laid the groundwork for constructing a vision of Costa Rican cultural identity capable of embracing the entire historical process by incorporating pre-Columbian cultures and their powerful symbolic expressions.
JIMÉNEZ DEREDIA IN THE WORLD
In 1999, he received the "Beato Angelico" award in recognition of the profound spirituality of his thought and artistic output. This award aims to foster a connection between the secular and religious worlds.
On the occasion of the Great Jubilee of 2000, the Fabbrica di San Pietro commissioned the artist to create a marble statue of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, which would be placed within a niche in the left transept of the south façade of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The niche that now houses the Costa Rican artist's sculpture was designed between 1544 and 1564 by the Renaissance sculptor and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti. The statue was unveiled on September 20, 2000, in the presence of Pope John Paul II. Deredia thus became the first non-European artist to be present at the fulcrum of Christendom.
In 2006, he was named "Corresponding Academician of the Classes of Sculpture" by the Florentine Academy of Arts and Design. Throughout its long career, the following have been named academicians of the institution: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Palladio, and Galileo Galilei, among others. He received numerous international recognitions, including the "Vita D'Artista" award from the city of Montecatini Terme, Italy. The Republic of Costa Rica declared him an Honorary Citizen for his sculptural work and for representing the country's culture worldwide, and the cities of Heredia and Miami awarded him the keys to the city. In 2009, the Roman Forum opened its doors to contemporary art for the first time in history, hosting his monumental sculptures on the Via Sacra (Sacred Way).
Since 2003, Jiménez Deredia has held outdoor exhibitions in many capital and cities around the world, from Florence to Rome, from Valencia to Trapani, from Boca Raton to La Baule, France, from Genoa to San José, Costa Rica, from Mexico City to Miami, from Courchevel, France, to Benidorm, Spain. In his 55 years of activity, this unique Latin American artist and thinker has sculpted monumental works in marble and cast them in bronze for museums and public spaces in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Latin America, spreading his message of peace and hope through the most physical of arts: sculpture.
ROME 2009
VALENCIA 2015
MEXICO CITY 2016
GENOA 2020
MIAMI 2022
COURCHEVEL 2023
