Created by the Museo de Arte Costarricense, the Teodorico Quirós Alvarado Award is aimed at recognizing the work and life dedicated to the art of those creators whose meaningful trajectory and merits, both nationally and internationally, are deserving of important recognition. This award, named after the renowned Costa Rican visual artist, is granted every three years to artists over the age of 50. It has been given to prominent creators like Francisco Amighetti (1998), Felo García (2001), Juan Luis Rodríguez (2005), Lola Fernández (2007) and Zulay Soto (2010). The 2013 Award went to Carlos Poveda and coincided with the 26th anniversary celebrations of the Museo de Arte Costarricense located in San José. An artist well-known in the Latin American art scene, Carlos Poveda was born in San José in 1940. He begins his creative life in his hometown and eventually moves to Washington D.C. and then lives in Caracas, Venezuela, for several years. He has been living for two decades already in Paris, where he now makes his objectual work. Aware of being a self-taught artist with no formal academic education, but also conscious of his innate talent for drawing, he immerses himself in the study of the theory and practice of art, exploring different materials and techniques to express themselves in various disciplines: drawing, painting, assemblage, sculpture and the three-dimensional "object," as he combines several methods, techniques and media. With the spirit of a visual researcher, Poveda has stated on several occasions: "research is an intrinsic part of my artistic work and I certainly enjoy greatly." The story begins in San José in 1962, when the Grupo 8 invites him to participate in some of their shows. In one such show he befriends prominent Latin American art promoter—and some of the important artists he represented—José Gómez-Sicre, at the time Visual Arts Director of the Pan American Union, known today as OAS. In 1964, the members of the Grupo 8 are invited to present an exhibition in that space. Poveda exhibits several drawings with great success. This opens several doors to pursue an international career. So he decides to take up residence in Washington, DC. In sum, Poveda's artistic process from 1975 to today, can be analyzed through several formal dimensions: the use of different materials; figurative, abstract and conceptual themes centered on the landscape, the vegetation; two-dimensional and sculptural; up to the work that he defines as "domestic landscapes," similar to the recreations of a creative chef but that ultimately are inventions by Poveda. His work has won several recognitions: Honorable Mention at the 8th Biennial of Sao Paulo (1965); the Achilles José Echeverría Award, in San José, Costa Rica (1966) and the top prize was the "Medal of Merit" awarded by the French Senate as part of the Day of Latin America and the Caribbean; on May 31, 2013, during the week of Latin America, Poveda was invited to speak about his career and work at the Musée du Quai Branly, in Paris.