Nina Tichava

Born 1973 : Vallecitos, NM

Education: 1999-2003 California College of the Arts [+ Crafts], San Francisco/Oakland CA, BFA in Painting and Drawing

Solo and two-person shows

2012

• Paper, Pattern and Ink/Oil and mixed media, July 2012, NuArt Gallery, Santa Fe

2011

• Constructed Environments: Plant, Pixel and Grid, Nov. 2011, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles

• Slat, Lantern, Glass and Water/New Works, Sept. 2011, NuArt Gallery, Santa Fe

• Pop/Folk Fusion, July 2011, Davidson Galleries, Seattle

2009

• Foundations: Plant/Animal/Mineral, July 2009, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles

Selected group shows and art fairs

2012

• Contemplating Nature, May 2011, S.A.M. Gallery, Seattle

2011

• New Works by Gallery Artists, Dec. 2011 Davidson Galleries, Seattle

• Red Dot Art Fair, Nov. 29-Dec. 5, 2011, Miami • Introductions 2011, May 2011, S.A.M. Gallery, Seattle

• Affordable Art Fair, May 2011, New York • Newcomers 2011, Jan-March 2011, Fresh Paint Art Advisors, Los Angeles

2010

• Small Works, Davidson Galleries, Seattle

• Red Dot Art Fair, Dec. 2010, Miami

• Affordable Art Fair, Spring & Fall Fairs, New York

2009

• Red Dot Art Fair, Dec. 2009, Miami

• Affordable Art Fair, May 2009, New York • LA Art Show, Jan. 2009, Los Angeles

2006

• Catching the Blues, Hang Art and Hang Art Annex, San Francisco

• Untitled, Hangar 1018, Los Angeles

2005

• New Artists, Hang Art and Hang Art Annex, San Francisco

• Originals 2005, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe

Collections

Harcos-Huneke Collection, Miramonte, CA

Swedish Hospital, Seattle, WA

Fenwick and West LLP, Silicon Valley, CA Trump Ocean Club International Hotel, Panama City, Panama

Residencies and Awards

2012    Vermont Studio Center, Artist in Residence, Artist Grant, October 2012

2007    Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant Award

2003    All College Honors, California College of the Arts

Nina Tichava, Artist Statement / July 2012

My paintings are explorations of color, surface, texture, pattern and media. I describe my works as abstract botanicals with architectural and decorative references, as they suggest natural forms (leaves, branches, birds, coral), man-made structures (buildings, windows, wrought iron, lights) and patterns both natural and fabricated (slats of wood, woven fabric, strata of earth, pixels). My interest in surface and texture—and my background in textiles and craft—is apparent. I employ traditional oil painting techniques as well as etching and screen-printing processes, incorporating oil paint, charcoal, ink, paper (origami paper, tape, vintage papers, maps) and metal studs. These materials are interwoven with complex layering and painstaking methods of application.

Rather than attempting to make the viewer aware of any “grand design” or narrative picture, my focus instead is the complex subtleties of detail and transient moments, as well as the materials themselves. The paintings are romantic, emotional and imperfect reproductions of the “things” that make up daily life—they represent a tangle of images and objects depicted with a beautiful inaccuracy. By design I follow a flawed yet elegant process to describe not only what those things might look like, but also how they might feel.

Nina Tichava was raised in both rural northern New Mexico and the Bay Area in California. She was influenced by her father, a construction worker and mathematician —and by her mother, who is an artist and designer. The reflections of these dualities—country to city, pragmatist to artist, nature to technology—are essential to and evident in her paintings. Nina received her BFA from California College of the Arts [+ Crafts]. She lives and works in Washington State.