Olga de Chica
Encyclopedia
Olga de Chica is a self-taught
neo-primitivist
Colombian painter who has achieved some recognition, both in Colombia and abroad, for her works.
", which she developed organically without the benefit of any formal artistic training. Her works are mainly populated landscapes that strive to communicate the look and feel of the typical, if sometimes slightly nostalgic, life in rural Colombia
. Her works are noted for their vivid colors, and charming, if somewhat fanciful representations of Colombian flora and fauna. Her works are informed by her Colombian upbringing in the early part of the 20th Century and today. Her paintings are said to contain the flavor and freshness of her home state. Rural life, small towns and the coffee
region of her native Colombia are the core of her work, where the family unit stands as the keeper of tradition and customs that make it unique in the social fabric of the nation.
. She attended the Sacred Heart of Jesus High School in Filandia and the School of Fine Arts in Manizales
. Olga started painting as a child, when it is said she used squeezed flowers in an attempt to create lively colors. However, the bulk of her lifetime was spent as the wife of a locally beloved school teacher, and the mother of two daughters and a son. It was not until she was approaching her fifties that she became a professional painter.
Five Outstanding Colombian Primitivist Painters:
-Regional Art Gallery, Medellín
-a Gruta Art Gallery, Bogotá
Representing Caldas, Annual Art Show El Cable, Manizales
1978
Representing Colombia, First International Festival of Art, Washington, D.C.
, U.S.A.
1979
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Dual Selection of paintings for Unicef Greeting Cards
and Unicef Calendar
1980
First Prize, Fourth Annual Juried Art Show, Women's Center Art Gallery, University of California, Santa Barbara
Magazine Cover of Caribbean Review, Spring 1980, Florida International University
Invited by Yugoslav Primitivist Artists, Maison des Arts Spontanés et Naifs, Brussels, Belgium
Visión Plástica de Caldas, Caldas Cultural, Vol. I, October 1988, pg 72-73
Annual Government Publication, Manizales
1984
Cover, Telephone Directory, Quindío State, Armenia
Cover, Arts and Culture Supplement, Sunday Edition‑La Patria Newspaper, Manizales,
9 September 1984
Poster "International Women's Day", International Theater Festival, Los Fundadores Theater, Manizales
1985
Outstanding Women in the Arts in Caldas, La Patria Newspaper Section A, pg 8, 18 May 1985.
Distinguished Citizen of Quimbaya, The House of Arts and Culture, Quimbaya
Distinguished Citizen of Filandia, The House of Arts and Culture, Filandia
1988
Poster: 60th Anniversary Caldas Liquor Industri, Manizales
1989
Quindío: Land of Coffee – Triptych. Reproduction on 2 x 3 mts. Billboard on The Art Park Abadía Méndez Circle, City of Armenia Centennial
1991
Poster for the International Coffee Fair, Office of Tourism, Manizales
1992
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Dual Selection of paintings for Unicef Greeting Cards
Seeds of Change – 500 Years of Cultural Encounter and Exchange: Itinerant Art Show of the Smithsonian Institution
, Museum of Natural History, presented at USA embassies and consulates.
1993
On Camera, Third Edition, INRAVISION TV Bogotá. Interviewing Four Artists from Caldas
Dual Selection for Greeting Cards 1994, Lorencita Villegas de Santos Children’s Hospital, Bogotá
1994
Dual Selection for Greeting Cards 1995, Lorencita Villegas de Santos Children’s Hospital, Bogotá
Personalities in Our Cultural World, Papel Salmon, La Patria Daily, Sunday Edition No. 95, p. 2-3, 31 July 1994
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Selection of painting for Unicef Greeting Cards for 1995
1995
Art Video including Olga de Chica (On Camera, Third Edition, INRAVISION TV- Bogotá) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
- Bibliographic Collection of participants in the United Nations 4th World Conference of Women, Beijing, China
, August 1995.
1997
"Coffee Plantation" Selection for the month of August, University of Caldas 1997 Calendar, Manizales
1999
Awarded the Medal Founders of the City and Distinguished Citizen by the City of Filandia on the 150th Anniversary of its foundation.
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Selection of painting for Unicef Greeting Cards for 2000
2005
Selected to participate in the YWCA "Voices" Art Exhibit to benefit the YWCA National Capital Area
Stateroom of the Colombian Naval Missile Frigate A.R.C. Caldas - ( Originally purchased for World Tour cruise.)
Colombo-American Bi-National Center, Manizales
The U.S. Embassy, Bogotá, Colombia
Museum, School of Fine Arts, University of Caldas, Manizales
House of Primitivists, Bogotá
Art in Public Places, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C.
House of Social Services, Los Fundadores Theater Center, Manizales
La Gruta Art Gallery, Bogotá
Conference Hall, Central Home Loan Bank, Manizales
House of Cultural Arts, Montenegro, Quindío
Colombo-American Bi-National Center, Pereira, Risaralda
House of Cultural Arts, Anserma, Caldas
House of Cultural Arts, Society of Public Works, Armenia, Quindío
Reception Hall, Caldas Liquor Industry, Manizales
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C.
Autodidacticism
Autodidacticism is self-education or self-directed learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is "learning on your own" or "by yourself", and an autodidact is a person who teaches him or herself something. The term has its roots in the Ancient Greek words αὐτός and διδακτικός...
neo-primitivist
Neo-primitivism
Neo-primitivism was a Russian art movement which took its name from the book Neo-primitivizm , by Aleksandr Shevchenko. In the book Shevchenko proposes a new style of modern painting which fuses elements of Cézanne, Cubism and Futurism with traditional Russian 'folk art' conventions and motifs,...
Colombian painter who has achieved some recognition, both in Colombia and abroad, for her works.
Introduction
Olga de Chica paints in a style that has been described as "primitivistPrimitivism
Primitivism is a Western art movement that borrows visual forms from non-Western or prehistoric peoples, such as Paul Gauguin's inclusion of Tahitian motifs in paintings and ceramics...
", which she developed organically without the benefit of any formal artistic training. Her works are mainly populated landscapes that strive to communicate the look and feel of the typical, if sometimes slightly nostalgic, life in rural Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. Her works are noted for their vivid colors, and charming, if somewhat fanciful representations of Colombian flora and fauna. Her works are informed by her Colombian upbringing in the early part of the 20th Century and today. Her paintings are said to contain the flavor and freshness of her home state. Rural life, small towns and the coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
region of her native Colombia are the core of her work, where the family unit stands as the keeper of tradition and customs that make it unique in the social fabric of the nation.
Biography
Olga de Chica was born in Filandia, Colombia, in the coffee region called QuindíoQuindío Department
Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the western central region of the country, crossed by the Andes mountains. Its capital is Armenia. It is famous for the quality of the coffee plantations, colorful architecture, benign weather, variety of hotel accommodations and touristic landmarks...
. She attended the Sacred Heart of Jesus High School in Filandia and the School of Fine Arts in Manizales
Manizales
Manizales is a city and municipality in central Colombia, capital of Department of Caldas and part of the region of Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis, near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano....
. Olga started painting as a child, when it is said she used squeezed flowers in an attempt to create lively colors. However, the bulk of her lifetime was spent as the wife of a locally beloved school teacher, and the mother of two daughters and a son. It was not until she was approaching her fifties that she became a professional painter.
Honors and distinctions
1976Five Outstanding Colombian Primitivist Painters:
-Regional Art Gallery, Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
-a Gruta Art Gallery, Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
Representing Caldas, Annual Art Show El Cable, Manizales
1978
Representing Colombia, First International Festival of Art, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, U.S.A.
1979
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Dual Selection of paintings for Unicef Greeting Cards
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
and Unicef Calendar
1980
First Prize, Fourth Annual Juried Art Show, Women's Center Art Gallery, University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
Magazine Cover of Caribbean Review, Spring 1980, Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
Invited by Yugoslav Primitivist Artists, Maison des Arts Spontanés et Naifs, Brussels, Belgium
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
Visión Plástica de Caldas, Caldas Cultural, Vol. I, October 1988, pg 72-73
Annual Government Publication, Manizales
1984
Cover, Telephone Directory, Quindío State, Armenia
Cover, Arts and Culture Supplement, Sunday Edition‑La Patria Newspaper, Manizales,
9 September 1984
Poster "International Women's Day", International Theater Festival, Los Fundadores Theater, Manizales
1985
Outstanding Women in the Arts in Caldas, La Patria Newspaper Section A, pg 8, 18 May 1985.
Distinguished Citizen of Quimbaya, The House of Arts and Culture, Quimbaya
Distinguished Citizen of Filandia, The House of Arts and Culture, Filandia
1988
Poster: 60th Anniversary Caldas Liquor Industri, Manizales
1989
Quindío: Land of Coffee – Triptych. Reproduction on 2 x 3 mts. Billboard on The Art Park Abadía Méndez Circle, City of Armenia Centennial
1991
Poster for the International Coffee Fair, Office of Tourism, Manizales
1992
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Dual Selection of paintings for Unicef Greeting Cards
Seeds of Change – 500 Years of Cultural Encounter and Exchange: Itinerant Art Show of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, Museum of Natural History, presented at USA embassies and consulates.
1993
On Camera, Third Edition, INRAVISION TV Bogotá. Interviewing Four Artists from Caldas
Dual Selection for Greeting Cards 1994, Lorencita Villegas de Santos Children’s Hospital, Bogotá
1994
Dual Selection for Greeting Cards 1995, Lorencita Villegas de Santos Children’s Hospital, Bogotá
Personalities in Our Cultural World, Papel Salmon, La Patria Daily, Sunday Edition No. 95, p. 2-3, 31 July 1994
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Selection of painting for Unicef Greeting Cards for 1995
1995
Art Video including Olga de Chica (On Camera, Third Edition, INRAVISION TV- Bogotá) at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
National Museum of Women in the Arts
The National Museum of Women in the Arts , located in Washington, D.C. is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay...
- Bibliographic Collection of participants in the United Nations 4th World Conference of Women, Beijing, China
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, August 1995.
1997
"Coffee Plantation" Selection for the month of August, University of Caldas 1997 Calendar, Manizales
1999
Awarded the Medal Founders of the City and Distinguished Citizen by the City of Filandia on the 150th Anniversary of its foundation.
UNICEF International Art Committee, New York, Selection of painting for Unicef Greeting Cards for 2000
2005
Selected to participate in the YWCA "Voices" Art Exhibit to benefit the YWCA National Capital Area
Collections
Olga de Chica's paintings can be found in the following collections, among other places:Stateroom of the Colombian Naval Missile Frigate A.R.C. Caldas - ( Originally purchased for World Tour cruise.)
Colombo-American Bi-National Center, Manizales
The U.S. Embassy, Bogotá, Colombia
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
Museum, School of Fine Arts, University of Caldas, Manizales
House of Primitivists, Bogotá
Art in Public Places, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C.
House of Social Services, Los Fundadores Theater Center, Manizales
La Gruta Art Gallery, Bogotá
Conference Hall, Central Home Loan Bank, Manizales
House of Cultural Arts, Montenegro, Quindío
Montenegro, Quindío
Montenegro is a municipality in the western part of the department of Quindío, Colombia. It is located 10 km west of the departmental capital Armenia....
Colombo-American Bi-National Center, Pereira, Risaralda
Pereira, Colombia
Pereira is the capital city of the Colombian department of Risaralda. It stands in the center of the western region of the country, located in a small valley that descends from a part of the western Andes mountain chain. Its strategic location in the coffee producing area makes the city an urban...
House of Cultural Arts, Anserma, Caldas
House of Cultural Arts, Society of Public Works, Armenia, Quindío
Reception Hall, Caldas Liquor Industry, Manizales
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, D.C.
External links
- http://ywcanca.org/art_exhibit.asp#Artists
- http://secondsightdc.blogspot.com/2005_08_01_archive.html