Patricia Chica

I was born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1950. For the last thirty-three years, I have lived on the outskirts of this vast city at about 1.8 miles above sea level. My home is surrounded by a highland Andean forest that provides a steady source of inspiration for my work. I appreciate, respect, and strive to protect my local ecosystem.

As an undergraduate student at the National University in Bogotá, I majored in art and concentrated in sculpture. Upon graduating, I continued my studies in sculpture at the Ian Van Eyck Akademie in Maastricht, Holland. Some years later, after beginning to raise my family back in Colombia, I established a ceramic studio, where I still create my work and teach.

While I have always admired natural landscapes, as time goes by I become increasingly focused on details, like the textures and arrangements of leaves, and the geometry of flowers, the way in which their patterns repeat, their rhythm, and their incredible diversity. Each one of my pieces is a manifestation of the manner in which I have assimilated this kind of information. In a certain way, I see my art as a contribution to environmental efforts. For me, there is nothing more beautiful than nature and no cause is more important than protecting i...