Priscilla Monge (born 1968) is a

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n artist. She is one of the best-known female artists from Central America.

Early life and education

She was born in San José and studied art at the

University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

. In 1994, she settled in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, staying there four years; there, she met the artist

Wim Delvoye Wim Delvoye (born 1965 in Wervik, West Flanders) is a Belgian neo-conceptual artist widely recognized for combining in his inventive and often shocking projects philosophical ideas, innovative use of materials, and a passion for craftsmanship. ...

who had a strong influence on her development as an artist. Now, she lives and works in San José.

Art career

Monge expresses herself through

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...

and photography. Her work often blends fragility and violence and is open to a multitude of interpretations. Because on the surface, all seems calm, the terror which lurks below the surface is more disturbing. Her work often deals with feminist issues. Her work was included in the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

in 2001 and again in 2013; she was also a participant in the

Havana Biennial The Bienal de La Habana was a traditional Latin, Caribbean event, originated in Havana, Havana, Cuba, that aims to raise awareness to promote contemporary art and giving priority to Latin Americans, Latin-American and Caribbean artists. The eve ...

in 1997 and in the

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Since its launch in 1998, Liverpool Biennial has commissioned over 380 new artworks and presented work by over 530 artists from around the world. ...

in 2008. Her work is included in the collection of the

Tate Museum Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Exhibitions

* 2019 – "Victoria Cabezas and Priscilla Monge: Give Me What You Ask For" –

Americas Society The Americas Society is an organization dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue on the Americas. It is located at Percy R. Pyne House, 680 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and was established by David Rockefeller in 1965. ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. * 2013 – 55th

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

, Costa Rica Pavilion, Ca´Bonvicini,

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. * 2010 – Bienal de Pontevedra. “Utrópicos: Centroamérica y Caribe”. Comisario Santiago Olmo. Pontevedra, Spain. * 2007 – "Global Feminisms" –

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

. * 2006 – Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art 2006. Liverpool, UK. * 2005 – "Points of View" – Photography in El Museo del Barrio's permanent collection.

El Museo del Barrio El Museo del Barrio, often known simply as El Museo (the museum), is a museum at 1230 Fifth Avenue in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is located near the northern end of Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile, immediately north of the Museum of the City ...

. * 2004 – I Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla – BIACS. Fundación Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla, Spain. * 2003 – OPEN e v+ a 2003 – ev+a. Limerick Biennial,

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. * 2001 – 49th

/ Biennale di Venecia,

. * 2000 – 24° Bienal de São Paulo,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. * 1999 – "Pervirtiendo el Minimalismo". Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, España. * 1997 – Bienal de La Habana,

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.1968 births Living people Costa Rican women artists Costa Rican installation artists Women installation artists 20th-century women artists 21st-century women artists Artists from San José, Costa Rica University of Costa Rica alumni