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ON a breezy April day in Atenas, an
hour northwest of San José, Orlando Carranza, 37, welcomed me to
his studio with a modest smile. Wearing a black Quicksilver
T-shirl and comforlable Bermudas, the award-winning sculptor and
set designer appeared supremely casual - somewhat surprising for
an adept, internationally renowned artist.
Carranza's religious and secular work can be found in his native
country of Costa Rica, as well as in Belize, Canadá and México,
where the artist studied and trained for 11 years. All of his
unique sculptures have a distinctive, lively, human touch.
"I create each piece separately," the artist explained
enthusiastically, "giving it an exclusive and natural character.
I do not produce high quantities, but work with all my heart."
IT all began when Carranza was in kindergarten, in his native
town of Atenas; his talent was uncovered immedi-ately through
sketching, painting, and modeling with Plasticine - yet his
mother was not amused by her son's creative activities.
"At first, my mother did not like to see me playing with clay
because I made a mess in the house," he recalled.
From kindergarten to grade six, Carranza took first place every
year for sculpture and painting.
In 1981, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports declared the
13-year-old "Joven Escultor Costarricense" (Young Costa Rican
Sculptor), enabling him to study on scholarship in México. His
master was doyen Francisco Zúñiga, one of the most important
Latín American sculp-tors of the 20th century. Born in 1912 in
San José, Costa Rica, Zúñiga moved to México in 1936, where he
lived, worked and taught until his death in 1998.
After his apprenticeship with Zúñiga, Carranza received a second
scholarship to enroll in sculptural art at the Autonomous
University of México, where he attended classes in anatomy,
design and tailoring, and trained as a goldsmith, among other
skills.
"The art of embroidery," he said, "I learned from the Mexican
nuns."
During a six-month course in Florence, Italy, the artist studied
gilding and other traditional techniques to create and restore
in all classical styles.
TWO Mexican actresses, Silvia Piñal and Verónica Castro,
impressed by Carranza's work, financed his career
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as a set
designen To enable himself to study sculpture in
the morning and set-design in the afternoon, he
earned his living as a dishwasher.
"I still did not give up learning," said the
highly motivated artist, whose sets have been
featured in popular Costa Rican and Mexican
televisión series, theater productions and music
shows by famous singers Eros Ramazotti, Enrique
Iglesias and Rícky Martin, among others.
In México, 28 of Carranza's monumental
sculptures are exhibited across the country in
parks, gardens and public places. Here in Costa
Rica, his religious icons decorate churches in
Liberia, capital of the northwestern province of
San José, the Caribbean port city of Limón, and
San José. Atenas hosts one of his early works, a
radiant white Virgen de las Rosas (Virgin of the
Roses), which greets residents and visitors
alike from the top of a hill.
DURING the 1990s, Carranza took part in
international sculpting competitions and
received numerous prizes and awards. His artwork
is available in wood, bronze, cement, granite
and marble. Clients can order from an extended
palette of objects and styles, including
columns, replicas of antique furniture, lavish
fountains or art-nou-veau mirror frames. Photos
and magazine pictures serve as working patterns.
One of Carranza's future projects will be the
creation of two graceful, larger-than-life,
bronze female dancers to adom the entrance of
the National Theater in San José. Two
biographies about Carranza in Spanish - one from
Costa Rica, the other from México - are being
published and will be available soon.
When asked how he feels about his work,
Carranza's answer is spontaneous.
"My craft is my life, my soul," he said. "I
always have more ideas than I do time to see
them through." |
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