Contemporary Mural Art in Costa Rica: Ulises Rivera's New Work in Playas del Coco
On a white outside wall of a contemporary home in Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, a mural by Ulises Rivera now animates the space above a private pool. Sharp, layered, and abstract, it’s a fresh perspective on the vitality of Guanacaste’s dry forests, the Pacific Ocean, and Costa Rica’s tropical paradise.
This mural was developed in collaboration with MÍRAME Fine Art, a gallery dedicated to supporting artists living and working in Costa Rica. The work is a distinctive intervention in a domestic space, highlighting how contemporary environments can be energised through collaboration with one of Costa Rica’s most exciting emerging artists.
Ulises Rivera, mural in Playas del Coco
About the Artist
Rivera is a self-taught muralist born in Mexico and raised in Costa Rica. He studied graphic design, but it was graffiti, beginning in 2012, that led him to discover his passion for painting murals. His style is distinctly recognisable: geometric layers, dynamic abstractions, and compositions with depth and solidity with colour palettes ranging from the bright to the muted. These murals are inspired by the local environment, whether natural or urban, and Rivera’s design sensibility helps his work resonate within Costa Rica’s contemporary art scene.
His mural art in Costa Rica appears across the country, from the Museum of Costa Rican Art in La Sabana to murals for UBER and Starbucks, and throughout Jacó, Las Catalinas, and numerous San José neighbourhoods. He has participated in multiple public commissions and festivals that highlight his commitment to public-facing, place-aware art.
For Rivera, his mural work, especially across public spaces in San José, is part of a commitment to social enrichment, recovering lost spaces and celebrating surroundings that might other fall by the wayside. By changing the scenery of the city, he makes art accessible to anyone.
From Mural to Canvas
While Rivera is best known for his wall-based work, his approach also extends to canvas, retaining the same formal language and conceptual sharpness.
He produces paintings that echo the geometry and palette of his murals using mural materials such as latex and spray paint. One piece we love is Nice View, which emphasises this urban-nature balance: hard-edged vertical lines resembling urban infrastructure interrupt a mountainous landscape, hinting at San José’s skyline nestled among the peaks. This coexistence of natural form and human-made rhythm reflects his approach more broadly. Rivera responds to his surroundings with intuition and structure, acknowledging that Costa Rica is urban as well as lush, organic as well as designed.
Ulises Rivera, Nice View, Latex and spray paint on canvas
Aligning Vision & Place
For this commission in Playas del Coco, the brief was concise but left room for creative interpretation. MÍRAME helped design a mural that nodded to Costa Rica’s tropical identity but in a way that felt fresh and original. Rather than replicating the country’s traditional imagery, the mural subtly interprets the region's atmosphere through colour, form, and structure. Rivera showed us that there is a lot you can do with contemporary mural art in Costa Rica beyond the expected tropical motifs.
Rivera received wall dimensions and site photos, then created several digital renderings in different palettes. The selected colour scheme oscillates between deep rust tones that resonate with the dry terrain of Guanacaste’s forested hillsides and cool soft blues, and sage, that reference the Pacific Ocean and surrounding foliage. A handful of sharp green splashes bring an edge to the composition, echoing an urban sensibility as well as nodding to the surrounding foliage in the garden and palm trees beyond. The work references the natural surroundings without overpowering them.
Mural in progress
A Collaborative Creation
Rivera spent a week working onsite, providing daily photo updates and ensuring communication remained transparent and fluid. He even constructed custom scaffolding to work safely above the pool without risking the tiles or surface. Every step was thoughtful and responsive. His attention to detail and communication was outstanding, and he was a joy to work with. It was incredible to witness the creative process and to see the space come more alive every day.
The finished mural is rich with rhythm. Its angular geometry creates tension and release. It feels alive in the space, adding presence without overpowering the ambience of the home. It has transformed the private space into something quietly magnetic, shifting the tone of the space and elevates the home.
In His Own Words: A Conversation with Ulises Rivera
We spoke with Rivera about the commission, his process, and what it means to bring mural work into a domestic setting like Playas del Coco.
When asked about his early ideas for the mural, Ulises explained that his process always starts with the site itself. While aesthetics matter, practical execution and how the work interacts with its environment are foundational.
UR:My approach or intention when designing this work was to create an echo of the area's ecosystem, using the sea, vegetation, coastal features, and surrounding mountainous terrain as references. The first thing that always comes to mind when planning a mural is logistics and development.
Painting outdoors is never straightforward, and in this case, the pool, elevation, and weather added extra layers of complexity. Ulises approached it as a logistical puzzle. It’s a kind of adaptive thinking that’s integral to his approach.
UR:Working on the beach, and especially outdoors, is always a challenge. The weather conditions make the execution slower and more complex. In this case, working around the architecture of the house, especially the pool, meant finding safe and precise ways to build scaffolding and protect the surface. These site-specific conditions always come with unique constraints, but there’s always a way to work through them creatively.
Ulises is widely known for his murals, yet his studio work reflects a different kind of control—more introspective, more focused on internal structure than surrounding architecture. The shift in format naturally comes with a shift in thinking and approach.
UR:While the canvas may reflect the context or the artist's ideas, its main concept focuses on the visual and conceptual composition contained within its surface. The mural work however is based on the conception of the place and the interaction with the architectural space.
Mural in progress with scaffolding above the pool
At MÍRAME Fine Art, we are proud to support artists like Rivera and to bring their work into public and private environments around Costa Rica.
As one of the most exciting contemporary artists emerging from Costa Rica today, Rivera blends Latin American energy with a distinctly local perspective. His work is graphic, architectural, and considered, offering something beyond the expected, especially for those seeking originality in a region celebrated for its natural beauty.
In a place often shaped by decorative traditions, he offers a sophisticated and contemporary alternative to mural art in Costa Rica.
Looking to commission a mural or original canvas by Ulises Rivera? Contact MÍRAME Fine Art at miramefineart.com
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Contemporary mural art in Costa Rica | Ulises Rivera Images courtesy of the artist.
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