Andrea Pichaida
lives in Santa Fe, NM
born in Santiago, Chile
andreapichaida.com | @andreapichaida
The shapes of Andrea Pichaida’s sculptural works in clay are at once spare and suggestive, their lines and colors inspired by nature, their content speaking to experience both personal and universal. Born in Santiago, Chile, Pichaida was exposed very early on to the vastness of the world, her first languages being Spanish and German. She went to school in Germany, and participated in exchange programs in Peru and Bolivia, before moving with her family to Angel Fire, New Mexico, in the late ’80s.
Currently in Santa Fe, where she has lived since 2010, Pichaida teaches and works in her private studio and serves on the board of New Mexico Potters and Clay Artists. Her work—which includes not just sculptural work in clay but also more utilitarian objects of beauty, as well as bas reliefs and installation work—can be found in collections throughout North and South America, as well as Europe.
Pichaida works with all kinds of clay to create sensuous shapes layered with muted yet vibrant colors that seem to be inspired by high-mountain foliage in equal parts to otherworldly jungle flowers. Textures punched into the clay give each piece further depth. Whether working with abstract designs or recognizable figures, Pichaida’s ceramic works have a quality both luminous and earthy that is distinctly her own.
