San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, 1982
Lives and works in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala

Originally from the Maya Tz’utujil people, his artistic work encompasses various forms of expression, including textile art, painting, video and installation. With a focus on collective experiences and actions, his research is deeply rooted in the culture and symbols of his community, located near Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, a place full of ancestral customs where the Tz’utujil language predominates. The Maya see themselves as part of nature without hierarchies: people, stones, corn seeds, the lake, all have their place in their cosmovision. Pichillá’s unique poetics are anchored in this identity, expressed through weaving, painting, and the incorporation of sacred objects.

Recent solo exhibitions include: “Abuela Materna”, Galeria Memoria, Madrid, Spain (2025); “Daritev / The Offering”, International Graphic Arts Museum – MGLC, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2024); and “Knotting and Unknotting”, Galería Elvira Moreno, Bogotá, Colombia (2023).

Recent group exhibitions include: “Ensaio sobre a Terra”, Simões de Assis, São Paulo, SP, Brazil (2024); “Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art”, Barbican Centre, London, UK (2023); “Myth Makers / HATCH Gallery”, Milan, Italy (2023); “Threads of The South”, The Institute for Studies on Latin American Art – ISLAA, New York, NY, USA; among others.

Pichillá is represented in prominent collections worldwide, including the Museo Reina Sofía (Spain), Tate Modern (London, UK), Denver Art Museum (USA), Museo MALBA (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Kadist Art Foundation (San Francisco, USA), IL POSTO (Chile), and the Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (Washington, USA). His work is also featured in private and institutional collections such as Colección Quinto Lojo (Guatemala), Colección Banco de España (Spain), Space Collection (California, USA), Colección Luiz Chrysóstomo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Colección Ernesto y Cecilia Poma (Miami, USA), Colección Instituto for Studies on Latin American Art ISLAA (New York, USA), and the D+C Family Collection (Miami, USA).

He is graduated from the Rafael Rodríguez Padilla National School of Fine Arts (1999-2003). He is also a member of the TEI-CA studio science and art research group , developing interdisciplinary study and research methods around contemporary art under the guidance of Roberto Cabrera (2001-2014). Pichillá was an artist in residency at La Nueva Fabrica, antigua Guatemala, in 2016.