The Daily Blog

Balance: A Temporary Installation to Discover in Town

Written by Fiorella Vargas | Apr 2, 2026 10:59:59 PM

Las Catalinas continues to grow as a place where art and everyday life intersect. Recently, two new sculptural works have been installed in Town by Estudio Rambar, bringing a quiet but powerful presence to the public realm. One of the sculptures is located in Plaza Central, next to Concierge, while the other can be found in the lobby of Santarena Hotel.

The series, titled Balance, is a collaboration between artists Maxime Viellard and Ángel Lara Vargas. The works explore the relationship between stability and collapse, capturing moments that feel both suspended and inevitable. They draw inspiration from the Zen practice of balancing stones, often done in rivers as a form of meditation, translating this ephemeral act into a permanent sculptural form.

Created using stones sourced from the Orosí River, each sculpture carries a direct connection to Costa Rica’s natural landscape. The pieces are held together by iron elements that pass through the stone itself, each rock carefully cut to allow the metal to connect and hold the composition in place. While the sculptures may appear to exist in a fragile balance, they are in fact fully connected and structurally fixed. The sense of tension is intentional, a result of precise design rather than chance.

Each sculpture holds a quiet tension. They are not static in perception, even if physically fixed. Instead, they exist in a state of in-between, where balance feels uncertain, even when it is structurally resolved. It becomes a reflection not only of the natural world, but of everyday life.

The intention behind placing these sculptures throughout Las Catalinas is to make art part of the public realm, moving it beyond the walls of a gallery and into daily experience. Rather than something to seek out, these works appear along the way, meeting you as you walk through Town. They echo the constant negotiation between structure and movement, between what holds and what gives way. In a place shaped by nature, walkability, and human connection, these pieces feel less like objects and more like pauses. Moments that invite you to slow down and look again.

Visitors and residents are invited to experience the sculptures in Plaza Central and Santarena Hotel, and to continue their visit at Estudio Rambar, located on the first level of Plaza Central, open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Walking directions to the gallery can be found here: https://linktr.ee/Estudiorambar