Ricardo Estella
b. 1951, New York City ∙ CE artist 1996-2006; 2010
Photo by Aileen Louie
Raised in the Philippines and returning to the United States in 1973, Ricardo Estella credits his artistic inspiration and successes to his father who taught him how to paint and sculpt as a child while living on the island of Luzon.
Though he is best known for his dramatic and colorful ceramic work and acrylic paintings, Estella works with paint, collage, threads, clay, and papier-mâché. His work often features religious iconography, as well as animals and landscapes. He is inspired by Indian mythology and often speaks of a trip he took there when young.
The characters Estella draws and sculpts are drawn from mythologies built upon his dreams, childhood stories, and classic storybook characters. One of his favorite projects is to create wood-cut characters from Peter Pan, Moby Dick, Sesame Street, and superheroes. Estella first worked in the Creativity Explored studio from 1996 to 2006, and returned in 2010.
Select Exhibitions & Projects
2020
UNTITLED ART FAIR, San Francisco, CA
Mother Nature! at Outsider Art Fair 2020, New York, NY
2019
California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art 2019, Davis, CA
2018
Transcendent, San Francisco Zen Center, San Francisco, CA
Faces and Places in the City, Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Library, San Francisco, CA
2017
Rebel Clay, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2016
Tabula Rasa, Creativity Explored , San Francisco, CA
2014
A Curious Menagerie, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2013
Outsider Artists, Oakland International Airport, Oakland, CA
San Francisco's Calacas: Day of the Dead, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2012
Creativity Explored at Ambach & Rice, Ambach & Rice, Los Angeles, CA
Fabulous, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Are We There Yet?, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2011
Hands on Clay, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2006
Sacred Places, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2003
Monster, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Fired and Wired, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
Lit, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2002
Art from the Fire, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
