Chico Andrades was born and raised a Rondeño, and remembers being fascinated with comics as a boy, a fascination that has led to him becoming one of the Serranía’s top wood carvers.
With Ricardo Dávila, Chico began his training in 2004 in Parauta, at a traditional carving school which has sadly closed down since. It was here Chico first began to appreciate the intricacies of carving in wood and stone, and here he discovered his talent for producing pieces with caricatures.
After finishing his training Chico joined together with Ricardo Dávila, and Diego Guerrero to form Grupo Algorma, a small collective that produced sculptures from discarded materials sourced in the Genal Valley. As part of this small group Chico successfully exhibited and arranged sculpting events, and becoming well known in Ronda and further afield.
These days Chico can be found in his workshop, Raices de Ronda, situated next door to the Mondragón Palace in Ronda. Visitors to the workshop will often find Chico carving his signature cartoon characters into olive tree roots just inside the entrance. Before entering the shop Chico invites you to spend a few minutes watching him as he sculpts, he believes this helps customers understand how the characters are born.
Taking inspiration from his love of childhood comics, Chico rarely spends too much time analysing the timber to be worked, instead allowing the character already in the wood to guide Chico’s chisel. In so doing Chico guarantees each piece is completely unique, it is actually impossible to ever create a copy of any piece since the wood is so different from one piece to the next.
Raices de Ronda
Talla y Escultura sobre raices de Olivo
Chico Andrades nace en Ronda (Malaga) en el año 1968, inicia su formación artística en el año 2004 de la mano del escultor Ricardo Dávila, en la ya desaparecida escuela de talla de Parauta. Allí descubre el mundo de la escultura en madera y piedra.
Más tarde forma parte del colectivo artístico Grupo Algorma (Ricardo Dávila, Chico Andrades y Diego Guerrero) con los que realiza esculturas de gran tamaño utilizando los desechos naturales del Valle del Genal (castaños quemados). Participa con el Grupo Algorma en varias exposiciones y eventos.
En la actualidad tiene su propia tienda en la parte antigua de Ronda, concrétamente en la plaza Mondragón frente al museo de Ronda. Allí talla, expone y vende su trabajo directamente al público.
Trabaja las raices de olivo de forma directa, inspirandose en las formas naturales que va encontrando y respetando siempre el trabajo de la naturaleza.
Amante del comic y la caricatura, nunca dibuja, mide o traza, no tiene en cuenta proporciones alguna y hulle totalmente de la simetría. Simplemente ataca las raices directamente, buscando los personajes que se encuentran en su interior, dando como resultado obras que nunca se repiten.
Contact Chico Andrades at Raices de Ronda
Chico can be contacted for private commissions.
Address: Plaza Mondragón, 9, Ronda, Malaga 29400
Would you like to purchase one of Chico’s pieces? Chico has his workshop in the heart of Ronda’s old town, right next door to the Mondragón Palace. Some of Chico’s Raices de Ronda pieces can be bought directly from his website, and shipped all over the world.
www.raicesderonda.es
chicoandrades.artelista.com
Click to send an email to Chico: raicesderonda@raicesderonda.es
Gallery of Chico’s Sculptures
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