Jade Leyva

visual artist

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A Bit About Jade Leyva

Award-winning Magical Magical Realism Artist Jade Leyva was born and raised in Mexico City. She has called New Mexico her home since 2006. Her work expresses her love of nature, multiculturalism, unity and environmental consciousness.

Jade has been creating art since she was a young girl in Mexico City with her mother being a visual artist and in her adult years, Jade had a 12 year mentorship with late Artist Bill Freeman. Her influences range from pre-Colombian to post-modern. It is at times whimsical, celebratory and reflective, yet always thought provoking and expressive - a visual “magical realism”. The central themes of her work are love, unity, and our fragile relationship to Mother Earth.

In 2013 she founded an organization called “Seeds: A Collective Voice” to raise awareness and cultivate education regarding ancient seed preservation and the environment through multimedia art exhibits and creating murals with seeds in community.

Most recently, she has been awarded by the annual Santa Fe’s Contemporary Hispanic Market (CHM) with Best in the Oil/Acrylic Painting Category in the years 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024 and Best of Show in 2021. In 2018 she was selected to create the poster image for CHM. Jade has created artwork for several important events and her work has been featured in books, magazines and on publication covers. She has participated in countless exhibitions at the local, national and international level. Jade’s works are collected by people around the globe.

Experience

1994-1999

Art Gallery Assistant/Manager, Samarkanda, Arte Para Coleccionistas, Mexico City 1994-1999

In her mid teens, Jade began working for the prestigious art gallery Samarkanda: Art For Collectors in Mexico City. The gallery housed works by such legendary artists as Frida Kahlo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Dr. Atl, Jose Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, among many others. The gallery also specialized in antiques, fine Persian rugs and Pre-Hispanic objects. Over her 5 year tenure there, Jade learned volumes about Mexican art and culture and artwork from around the world. She attended many classes at the Museum of Modern Art, such as surrealism workshops and History of early 20th century Mexican art. She coordinated the exhibition space, did book keeping, art cataloging, photographing entire collections, inventorying and much more.

During this period, Jade also spent time traveling around Europe soaking up the art and culture of the continent. Since her childhood she had spent time much time visiting myriad archaeological and cultural sites including those of the Aztec, Toltec, Olmec and Mayan as well as traveling with her mother to small towns within Mexico enjoying close contact with the native people of southern Mexico, such as Zapotec, Mixtec, Mazatec, Maya and Aztec and Huichol in West Mexico.

2001-Present

Ancient Pottery Restorator 2001-Present

Jade moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 2000, where she started creating art in a professional manner It was there, in March of 2001, that she met renowned painter, pottery maker, and collector Bill Freeman, who invited her to learn how to make pots. This began a long-term friendship and mentoring process. Bill taught her all his pottery making and antiquing techniques as well as ancient pottery restoration. This would prove to be another pivotal influence on her. As she became more and more fascinated with the process, she started to make this activity a major part of her schedule, spending her free time in the studio with Freeman making and restoring pottery.

2006-Present

Self Employed Visual Artist - 2006-Present

Magical Realism Artist Jade Leyva is from Mexico City and she lives in New Mexico since 2006. She has created images for several important events and her work has been featured in many books and publication covers. She has participated in collective exhibitions at the local, national and international levels. Her work is collected by people from across the globe. In 2013 she founded an organization called “Seeds: A Collective Voice” which promotes raising awareness through multimedia arts exhibits and collective projects to educate communities about different environmental subjects.

2013-2016

Collective Art Project Managment 2013-2016

In 2013 Leyva founded an organization called Seeds: A Collective Voice/Community Seed Mural Project which endeavors to raise awareness about ancient seed preservation and to educate environmental sustainability through multimedia art exhibits and also visiting over 100 locations over 3 years, Jade created several murals, entirely with seeds. Thousands of members of the community of New Mexico participated as co-artists. In 2014, Leyva was invited to an International Conference in Chiapas, Mexico to speak about her project and show her artwork. The first ten completed Community Seed Murals came together on display at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque, NM, in September of 2016. Leyva’s Seeds: A Collective Voice project has involved local, national and international artists from around the world as mural designers. Jade donated most of the murals to public spaces throughout the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico.The project continues to grow with a book, educational program for schools, and a documentary, all under Jade’s direction and guidance.

June 2020-June 2021

October 2023

Art Instructor for pandemic youth online camp program: Acta Non Verba, Oakland, CA

Art Printing Residency Under Maestro Enrique Flores, Oaxaca.

For the month of October 2023, Jade was invited to participate in an art residency to learn print making (lithograph, etching and woodcut) under the tutelage of renowned Oaxacan master Enrique Flores in his print workshop in the town of Huitzo, Oaxaca. She also created 2 seed murals with the community of Huitzo.

Skills

Pottery restoration, acrylic painting, non traditional pottery making, sculpture in clay and paper maché. Artistic photography, silicone art mold making, gallery art curation, some design, pop up art exhibit curation and organizing, sales and marketing.

Past Gallery Representation

Xico Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona.

Tansey Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.

Adelante Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona

Galleries West, Jackson Hole Wyoming

Gathering of Artists, Corrales, New Mexico

Huey Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Mill Contemporary on Canyon Road, Santa Fe New Mexico

•As of 2021, Jade is succesfully an indendependent Artist.

Awards

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020 Top 5 Best Of The City Artist

Albuquerque The Magazine | Albuquerque, New Mexico

2017 Local Treasures Award

Albuquerque Art Business Association | Albuquerque, New Mexico

2017 Best Oil/Acrylic Painting Category