Costa Rican Tapestry
Textile art has one of the longest histories in Latin America. Long before European contact, Andean cultures were producing woven works of extraordinary complexity — cloth that carried cosmological meaning, recorded history, and encoded social identity. That tradition persisted through the colonial period and into the twentieth century, when artists like Colombia's Olga de Amaral began translating it into a contemporary fine art practice, using handwoven linen and gold leaf to produce works that now sell at auction for over a million dollars. Artnet, which has been tracking her market closely, described the current moment as a "radical reconsideration" of fabric art by both museums and the collector market.
Tufting is one technique within this broader revival. Yarn is punched or looped through a backing material using a tufting gun, creating dense, highly textural surfaces that are fixed with latex and can be installed on walls or placed on the floor. The technique has pre-industrial roots but was modernised in the mid-twentieth century and has since moved steadily from craft studios into galleries and serious collections. It produces pieces that are visually immediate, tactile and formally flexible — capable of anything from geometric abstraction to figurative imagery or to something in between.
Carolina Gullermet, Untitled, 2026, Tapestry, 80 x 100cm | 31.5 x 39.4 in.
Carolina Guillermet is a MÍRAME Costa Rican tapestry artist who has been working with this tufted wool tradition in Costa Rica for years, and her practice has a particular weight of lineage. She is the granddaughter of Swiss artist J.P. Guillermet who, although multidisciplinary, was famed for his tapestries using similar techniques and she is also the granddaughter of the celebrated abstract painter Lola Fernández.
Carolina's tapestries (as with her paintings) are informed by urban colour theory and her architectural interests. She depicts bold geometric forms with a rich palette to create vibrant and emotionally resonant works. For her, colour goes beyond mere visual aesthetics; it acts as a medium for emotional impact. As she puts it: “Colour is a feeling I prefer. We feel colour; it can be as simple as that.” She is also inspired by the work of artist Josef Albers, and the textile practice of his wife Anni Albers, whose work drew directly on Peruvian weaving traditions.
Working with allergen-free synthetic wool, Carolina collaborates with local ateliers in San José to ensure precision in execution. The backing is reinforced with latex for durability and a rubberised base for stability — a construction that allows the tapestries to function as wall works or floor pieces. It is also worth noting that she transforms a technique traditionally associated with functional textiles into a medium for serious artistic expression, something the tufting revival in the wider art world is only now beginning to recognise.
Two new pieces from her Costa Rican tapestry practice are now available with MÍRAME. They are both 80x100 cm/31.5x39.4 in. You can learn more about Carolina's practice by visiting her MÍRAME artist page.
Carolina Guillermet, Untitled, 2026, Tapestry, 80 x 100 cm | 31.5 x 39.4 in.
Another MÍRAME artist is Oscar Ruiz-Schmidt who is from Liberia in Guanacaste. Oscar is a multidisciplinary artist and fashion designer who works under the label Obra Gris. He produces a range of tapestries using the same tufting technique, but his pieces are grounded in his practice of sustainability and material economy, extending from fashion into object-making.
Oscar Ruiz-Schmidt, Rincón de la Vieja 2, Tapestry
His volcano tapestries — Irazú and Rincón de la Vieja — reduce Costa Rica's most recognisable landscapes to geometric essentials. Dark triangles, eruption plumes, lava flows in wool: works that are graphic and direct, unmistakably celebrating Costa Rica.
Carolina Guillermet and Oscar Ruiz-Schmidt are two examples of contemporary Costa Rican tapestry practice. Although are working with the same tufting technique, their visual language differs: one inspired by geometry, colour theory and family legacy, the other in landscape and sustainability. What's more, tufting is a labour-intensive craft that requires skilled hands beyond the artist's own. By working with local ateliers in San José, Carolina and Oscar are keeping that expertise alive at a moment when many traditional craft skills are under pressure.
New tapestries by Carolina are available through MÍRAME now, alongside tapestries by Oscar. Contact us to enquire.
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