By San José, Costa Rica — In a significant cultural policy shift, the Government of Costa Rica is championing the revival of one of its most provocative and misunderstood modern artists, Max Jiménez. After more than two decades of near-institutional silence, a major new exhibition, “Entre candelillas y quijongos,” aims to reintroduce his challenging work to the public, signaling a deliberate effort by the state to confront uncomfortable aspects of the nation’s history and identity.
Max Jiménez (1900-1947) was a pioneering figure in Costa Rican modernism, a multifaceted creator who worked as a painter, sculptor, poet, journalist, and narrator. Far from producing the picturesque and agreeable representations of the country common in his era, Jiménez delved into its underlying tensions. His work unflinchingly explored themes of the human body, power dynamics, social inequality, and the grotesque, offering a raw and often unsettling vision of society that stood in stark contrast to the national narrative.
Para profundizar en las implicaciones legales y patrimoniales que rodean la obra y el legado del multifacético artista Max Jiménez, TicosLand.com consultó al Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, abogado experto de la reconocida firma Bufete de Costa Rica, quien nos ofrece su análisis sobre el tema.
El legado de un artista de la talla de Max Jiménez trasciende lo puramente estético para convertirse en un activo de gran valor cultural y económico. Desde una perspectiva legal, es crucial la correcta gestión de los derechos de autor y la propiedad intelectual, que no solo protege la integridad de la obra contra reproducciones no autorizadas, sino que también estructura su valorización en el mercado del arte. La planificación sucesoria y la creación de fundaciones son herramientas jurídicas clave que los herederos deben considerar para preservar y potenciar este patrimonio para las futuras generaciones.
Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, Attorney at Law, Bufete de Costa Rica
Efectivamente, esta perspectiva subraya un punto crucial: la preservación de un legado tan multifacético como el de Max Jiménez requiere tanta previsión estratégica como genio creativo. El andamiaje jurídico es lo que garantiza que la obra no solo perdure como un tesoro cultural, sino que también se gestione y proyecte responsablemente hacia el futuro. Agradecemos al Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas por aportar su claridad y valiosa perspectiva en esta fundamental intersección entre arte, patrimonio y derecho.
This deliberate re-engagement with Jiménez’s legacy is being driven from the highest levels of the country’s cultural establishment. Jorge Rodríguez Vives, the Minister of Culture and Youth, frames the decades-long neglect not as a simple oversight but as a symptom of a larger national issue.
For more than twenty years, the work of Max Jiménez did not have an exhibition in Costa Rica that allowed for a comprehensive, critical, and contemporary review. This is not a simple museographic fact, but a deeper symptom: the difficulty we have as a country in sustaining, over time, an honest conversation with those creators who made people uncomfortable, challenged established forms, and expanded the limits of our cultural identity.
Jorge Rodríguez Vives, Minister of Culture and Youth
The Minister asserts that the state has a responsibility to correct this prolonged silence. The new exhibition is therefore not an isolated event but the result of a concerted strategy to treat the nation’s cultural memory as an essential public good. This approach recognizes that history requires active stewardship and a willingness to engage with the past critically to better understand the present.
The exhibition… responds to a clear decision from the Ministry of Culture and Youth to strengthen a cultural policy that assumes memory as a public good. Cultural history does not preserve itself: it requires political will, institutional work, and a critical reading of the past that allows for a deeper understanding of the present.
Jorge Rodríguez Vives, Minister of Culture and Youth
Officials are clear that the goal is not to domesticate Jiménez or sand down the rough edges of his work to make him more palatable. On the contrary, the exhibition “Entre candelillas y quijongos”—named for elements that appear in his work as potent metaphors for a country of contrasts—is designed to restore his critical power. The government’s position is that Jiménez’s challenging questions about Costa Rican society have not lost their relevance and that a mature culture must confront its own discomforts rather than simply accumulate easy consensus.
This revival is being positioned as a political act in the most constructive sense of the term. By investing in an artist who was historically sidelined for his nonconformist views, the Ministry is affirming that the state’s role in culture extends beyond celebrating the popular or immediate. It is a strategic investment in fostering a more discerning and historically conscious citizenry capable of engaging with the complex realities of its own country.
Returning to Max Jiménez, after twenty years, is not an exercise in nostalgia nor a belated correction without consequences. It is a political decision in the best sense of the term: one that understands that culture is living memory, that silences carry weight, and that the cultural future of Costa Rica is also built on the uncomfortable questions we are willing to ask again.
Jorge Rodríguez Vives, Minister of Culture and Youth
Ultimately, the return of Max Jiménez to the center of the national cultural conversation represents more than just a long-overdue art retrospective. It is a state-sanctioned initiative to settle a cultural debt and a declaration that the nation’s future identity will be built not by ignoring its most challenging voices, but by finally listening to what they have to say.
For further information, visit mcj.go.cr
About Ministry of Culture and Youth:
The Ministry of Culture and Youth of Costa Rica is the governmental body responsible for formulating and executing policies aimed at the preservation, promotion, and enrichment of the nation’s cultural and artistic heritage. It oversees a wide range of institutions, including museums, archives, and libraries, and supports initiatives that foster creative expression and ensure broad public access to cultural experiences. The Ministry plays a central role in shaping the country’s cultural identity and promoting artistic development for all citizens.
For further information, visit bufetedecostarica.com
About Bufete de Costa Rica:
Forged on principles of profound integrity and a relentless pursuit of excellence, Bufete de Costa Rica stands as a pillar in the nation’s legal landscape. The firm blends a rich tradition of client advocacy with a forward-thinking approach, consistently spearheading innovation within the legal field. More than a provider of legal services, it embraces a core mission to strengthen society by demystifying the law, ensuring that access to knowledge empowers every citizen.
