XANDRA URIBE Designer | Artist

+57.310.828.4514 | xandra@frijolatorio.com | @frijolatorio

ARTISTIC MISSION

Of the 400,000 plant species known to humans, only twelve serve as staple
foods. Among these, beans are unique—they were first cultivated not just for sustenance, but to adorn the body and serve in spiritual and divination rituals. Xandra Uribe's work revindicates this sacred origin, positioning beans as "living gems"— vessels of memory, beauty, and ancestral intelligence that bridge biodiversity with contemporary design.

PRACTICE

Frijolatorio (Founder & Creative Director)
Living Art and Seed Project, Colombian Mountains, Medellín

A creative seed bank and cultural initiative that reclaims the spiritual, aesthetic, and symbolic value of beans. Nestled in the Colombian mountains surrounding Medellín, Frijolatorio functions as both living museum and atelier, where ritual remains slow and sacred. The project cultivates and documents rare heirloom beans passed down through generations, serving as a platform for art installations, community exchange, and research into the aesthetic, ritual, and agricultural roles of beans across cultures. Within Frijolatorio, Uribe creates one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces that transform individual, curated natural beans into wearable art. Each piece is crafted entirely by hand, combining natural beans with others cast in gold, silver and bronze using the pre-Columbian lost wax technique. Every bean is individually selected and honored for its unique geometry and symbolic power, creating contemporary talismans that celebrate ancestral wisdom and biodiversity.

EXHIBITIONS

International

• "The Soul of Objects," Latin American Collective | GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts, Leipzig, Germany | May–Sep 2026

• "Garden," Nature-Inspired Jewelry Exhibition | Sienna Patti, Boston, MA | Aug–Sep 2025

• "Agua," Japanese-Colombian Collective | Sankeien Garden, Yokohama, Japan | Sep 2024

• "Colombian Vibes" | CEU Studio, Miami, FL | Dec 2023

Colombia

• "El Dorado Enterrado" (solo exhibition) | Majo Museum of Arts and Anthropology, Jericó, Antioquia | Aug–Sep 2024

• "Ilumina" Collective Exhibit | 902 Showroom, Medellín | Oct–Nov 2023

• CIAT Seed Bank Gallery | Palmira, Valle del Cauca | Permanent exhibition since 2023 (sole artist in collection)

• "Perlas de mi tierra" | Casa de la Leona, El Retiro, Antioquia | Oct–Nov 2022

• "Un Jardín" (solo exhibition) | Casa Enso Gallery, El Retiro, Antioquia | Nov-Dec 2021

• "Las Matices del Asombro" | La Rambla artists collective, Medellín | Oct–Nov 2021

Notable Collaborations

• Agua by Agua Bendita (2023): “Bean Harvest” celebrating Colombian biodiversity inspired by their colors, shapes and patterns. Includes dresses, pants, jackets and swimwear, as well as golden accesories and belts, necklaces and suspenders crafted with real seeds.

• Alliance Bioversity-CIAT & Parque Explora (2023): Commissioned to cocurate the welcome gallery for the seed bank’s headquarters in Palmira, Valle; a custom designed Frijolatorio harvest was incorporated into the permanent exhibition

• Ongoing projects with Colombian artists and designers (2018–present)

ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT & PUBLIC SPEAKING

Keynote Presentations

• "Me importa un fríjol" | World Food Day, Alliance Bioversity-CIAT, Palmira, Valle | Oct 2023

• "Pintar con fríjoles: Jugar y Convidar" | La Colegiatura Design University, Medellín | Aug 2023

Panel Discussions

• "Guardianes de Semillas" | Feria de las Flores, Medellín | Aug 2023

• "Beans in Fashion" | Expoartesano, Medellín | Oct 2020

• Collaborative Presentations with Wade Davis (Anthropologist) | 2019-2022

• FILBo Bogotá

• Parque Explora, Medellín

• Hay Festival Jericó

• Medellín Botanical Garden

• Expoartesanías, Bogotá

• Constitutional Court of Colombia

• Instituto Humboldt, Bogotá

• The New School, New York

Research Focus

• Ethnobotany and symbolic analysis

• Historical investigation of beans in Mesoamerican divination, Andean offerings, and other global ritual practices

• Documentation of rare Colombian and New World bean varieties

• Aesthetics as a cultural value

PUBLICATIONS & PRESS

• Vogue (multiple editions: France, Greece, United States, Mexico/Latin America) | Articles, fashion editorials and celebrity recommendations | 2019–2020

• Synonym | U.S. gastronomic publication special issue on rice and beans | 2024

• Architectural Digest | AD100, special edition highlighting Latin American design | 2024

• AXXIS Design Magazine | Collectors issue featuring the best architecture, design and décor in Latin America | 2020

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

• Accessory Brand of the Year (Nominee) | Latin America | 2023

• Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño (Finalist) | Madrid | 2020

• Cannes Bronze Lion – Best Film (Media) | Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity | 2007 "In a Man's Life" (Discovery Channel)

• Board of Directors WWF Colombia | 2020-2222

NOTABLE COLLECTORS

• Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

• Maria Clemencia de Santos, former First Lady of Colombia

• Donna Karan, Fashion Designer

• Christina Kim (Dosa), Fashion Designer

• Carol Beckwith, Photographer

• Angela Fisher, Photographer and Jewelry Designer

POINTS OF SALE

Colombia

• Casa Cicuta, Bogotá

• MAMBO Museum of Modern Art Bogotá

• MAMM Museum of Modern Art Medellin

• Makeno Concept Store, Medellín

• AmaWaterways Magdalena River Cruise

International

• Sienna Patti Gallery, Boston

• Plaza Bolívar Showroom, Brooklyn