Nina Tichava

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 – from country to city, from pragmatist to artist, from nature to technology – are essential to and evident in her paintings.

“my most central interest is in the inherent beauty of form – in nature, in manmade objects and in architecture.” Tichava says. “The images and forms that I come into contact with daily so often strike me as achingly beautiful. I am inspired by everything from faded walls and climbing vines to telephone poles and knotted yarn. I try to emulate that simple quality of discovered and seen beauty in the world around me. I am interested in technology, progression, and evolution, but I can’t ignore the very personal draw of the tactile, human quality of art making, something I firmly believe is necessary in the modern world.”

“My work is influenced by and derivative of Abstract Expressionism, Color Field Painting, the Arts & Crafts Movement, media, design, architecture, science, figurative art, textiles, insects and flowers. I am interested in the possibilities inherent in painting. I carry a strong, romantic belief in its tradition.”

Nina received her BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco and Oakland. She lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.