About the artist
Oscar Mena (b. 1995, San José, Costa Rica) is a visual artist whose practice is primarily rooted in painting and centers on an ongoing body of work united by a shared intention: to reinterpret reality from a more personal and conscious perspective.
His work draws from the everyday, the symbolic, and the intimate, using painting as a means of constructing visual narratives in which perception and experience intertwine. Each piece functions as part of an evolving body of work rather than as an isolated outcome.
His practice stems from a sustained interest in how ways of seeing and understanding the world around us are formed, remaining open to exploration while maintaining a consistent line of inquiry.
Working independently through study and experimentation, he continues to develop and refine an evolving visual language of his own.
Shows
Group shows
2026
Galería Goya, Foro Cultural Goya
Av. Chapultepec, Cuidad de México
Retractus 2026: Una mirada al alma
Virtual group portrait exhibition
2025
Escuela y Galería Áurea
San José, Costa Rica.
1st Edition of the Arts Festival: Nueva Acrópolis
A little bit of my story
My relationship with art hasn't been straightforward. When I was 12, I enrolled in a summer course at the Casa del Artista in Costa Rica. At that time, I had interest, curiosity, and a need to create, but I wasn't yet mature enough to truly understand what art meant to me. I ended up dropping out of the course.
Later—at 19—I tried again, and the same thing happened. I think a lot of it stemmed from not really knowing what I wanted to say, what I wanted to build, or even who I was within all of it. The art was there, but I still hadn't found a clear direction or a connection deep enough to sustain it.
For many years I found refuge primarily in pencil drawing. I would spend hours upon hours, even entire nights, drawing locked in my room, sketching any celebrity who crossed my path. I've always had an obsession with observing the world closely, and I believe that's where much of my relationship with art began, along with the need to reinterpret what I saw from a more personal perspective.
Over time, painting emerged not only as a new technique, but as a space where I could build something more honest and closer to my own experience. I began to understand art less as a pursuit of perfection and more as a way to process ideas, emotions, and moments that are often difficult to put into words.
Today, my work continues to develop from that exploration. This site brings together part of that process: works, series in progress, the influence of incredible artists, and fragments of a practice that continues to evolve along with me.
contact information
I'm always open to new opportunities and collaborations. Let's talk.