Art
Monte Azul
Center for the Arts
Adjacent to the hotel, the 85-acre Monte Azul Center for the Arts was founded by Carlos Rojas and Randall Langendorfer in 2003. Monte Azul was opened in its current location in 2008 with an innovative approach combining art, nature, a hotel, and fine dining into a sophisticated and approachable experience. Monte Azul garnered several international awards and earned accolades from colleagues in the art world and in the travel industry until selling its hotel and restaurant operations to focus exclusively on art (and cheese... but that's another story!)
Art inspired and created on site
As of 2023, Monte Azul collaborates with Chirripó Art Hotel to provide lodging for visiting artists and to exhibit works made on site, while permitting hotel guests to have access to the Monte Azul Nature Reserve trails and natural swimming pool.
Artists are invited to experience this inspirational natural environment at the Monte Azul private nature preserve and to apply their impressions in their work, while on site. Works are placed throughout the property, enhancing the stay of guests at the Chirripó Art Hotel. Guests are often moved by the works inspired by the magical landscape during their stays. As a way to recall their experiences, many guests are pleasantly surprised to find that the works of art are available for purchase.
In fact, Monte Azul functions as an alternative to a typical gallery experience, one in which collectors can experience the same spaces where the art is inspired and created. In several instances, guests bond personally with the artist on-site and even come to form long-lasting friendships.
A Curator's Perspective
Monte Azul is the artist, the experimental art space,
the gallery, and the museum
I work as an art curator between Miami and New York, and the creative paradigm of Monte Azul’s art programming was a breath of fresh air. The owners Randy and Carlos (a former San Francisco gallerist) have opted for a multidisciplinary and practical approach to creative practices that on the one hand exhibits artwork in the residencies and exhibition space that speaks to contemporary art globally, whilst on the other offers visitors immersive creative experiences workshops that bring visitors closer to the principals of creativity.
The program is completely symbiotic, artists … and get this… stay at Monte Azul as part of their invited artists residency program to make work on site. The rainforest, mountains, and tranquility provide inspiration and unfiltered interaction, replacing distraction with enriching art.
Going back to New York to a market that pushes art out into the world felt very behind the times in comparison to Carlos' Monte Azul approach., which provides a platform for creation, experimentation, exhibition, and sales if visitors are so inclined to buy—simply by integrating life and creativity with the goal of sustainability.
Essentially if art is supposed to be about offering ideals, questioning, and educating, then Monte Azul is the artist, the experimental art space, and the museum."
– Claire Breukel
About the Founders
Carlos L. Rojas Jara
Randall L. Langendorfer
UC Berkeley BA UC Riverside MA PhD Research Universidad Complutense de Madrid Carlos brings his passion for art to life as co-founder of Monte Azul Center for the Arts. A curator and former San Francisco and New York gallery owner, Carlos now devotes his counsel and experience to encourage artists to succeed in the creative process. He understands how difficult making work is – as well as the pressures that come from living the life of an artist. As one former resident shared, “Carlos gets it.” Carlos feels happiest when he is building and nurturing the core of what is central to an artist, and helping artists to realize their dreams.
BS IU Bloomington MS Loyola University Chicago MBA IU Bloomington Before co-founding Monte Azul Center for the Arts, Randall left professional careers as a botanist and international marketer, including the dream job of Director of Product Development for Star Wars toys worldwide. You can depend on Randall for his generosity of spirit and for telling it like it is. In his element equally in a lab or studio, he inspires creativity through tactile arts such as ecological soap-making, textile arts and more. A true renaissance man, Randall is the Master Cheesemaker at Monte Azul Artisanal Cheese Company.