Irene Calderón (b. 1990, San José, Costa Rica)
Irene Calderón expresses her artistic vision through the timeless medium of oil painting, channeling a deep exploration of the human figure with a particular focus on the female body. Her work stands out for the immersive nature of her portraits, where she manipulates light and shadow to evoke both the strength and vulnerability inherent in her subjects.
Calderón’s paintings seek to capture more than just the physical likeness of her figures—while she paints the exterior, her true pursuit lies beneath the surface. Through a delicate interplay of light and depth, she strives to reveal a flicker of her subjects’ inner life—a fragment of their soul, their emotions, and psychological depth. Her work conveys both the tangible and intangible qualities of the human spirit, reflecting not only the essence of the individual but also the atmospheres they inhabit.
An essential part of her practice is questioning the connection between the subject and their context. Being from Costa Rica, her paintings often incorporate elements from her surroundings, her culture, and the subtle, ever-present ambiguity of being a painter from a small town in a country rarely associated with the tradition of oil painting. These layers enrich her work with a quiet but persistent exploration of belonging, identity, and place.
Her work has been exhibited in Costa Rica, Argentina, Spain, England, and Italy, and she has been represented by Reiners Contemporary Art in Marbella, Spain, and Cassina Projects in Milan, Italy.
Represented by