Adriana Siso has challenged the conventional boundaries that separate fine art, design, architecture, and entrepreneurship throughout her creative journey. Instead, she has explored various fields, including fashion design, minimalist painting, sculpture, and more recently, architecture and environmental design. Her creative pursuits do not adhere to established categories; rather, Siso is intrigued by the exploration of what has yet to be defined. She is an artist, a designer, a contemporary furniture dealer, and most notably, an innovator.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Siso left home in 1979 to study studio art under Escuela Pilar Taboada in Valencia, Venezuela. She co-owned and operated Entonces, a fashion design store in Valencia that offered Brazilian and Italian beachwear, as well as in-store designed and produced lines. Later, while back in Caracas, she enrolled in the well-known CEGRA (Centro de Enseñanza Gráfica) program, where she studied graphic arts, art theory, and drawing with the esteemed artist Alirio Palacios, and visual communication with the renowned Latin American critic, curator, and cultural commentator Maria Elena Ramos.
In the early 1980s, Siso moved to the United States, where she earned a BFA degree in sculpture from Florida International University. Influenced by a friend and Art History professor at FIU who had explored and documented ancient cultures and artifacts in the Southwest, Adriana relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1989. The Southwest provided her with fertile ground for new ideas. Enchanted by the timelessness and beauty of the Southwestern landscape and culture, she continued her art studies with Lynda Benglis at the Santa Fe Art Institute.
In the mid-1990s, she collaborated with a local Santa Fe artist to establish artists’ studios and exhibition spaces in an old warehouse building, creating The West Manhattan Artspace, an artist collective that hosted various exhibitions and events for several years. Additionally, she co-owned and operated Black Mesa Ceramics, a ceramic studio on the outskirts of Santa Fe, as part of another artist collaborative project. She also worked intermittently in faux painting for residential and commercial projects in the USA and Venezuela, including set design and costume design at the Santa Fe Opera. Throughout the 1990s, she continued to showcase her artwork in Caracas and the US.
The Molecule Design Space is Siso’s most impressive achievement to date. It represents a continuation of her interest in the relationship between spatial construction and social purpose. She is focused on the connection between people’s activities and their work environments. Molecule became her most personal and adventurous endeavor, formed from 11 100% recycled cargo containers. This structure is unique in Santa Fe, showcasing an industrial quality that maintains an understated freshness. Steel and frosted polycarbonate create an airy space filled with light, which adapts according to needs. The building was sold in 2022. The store annually featured the work of local Santa Fe designers, fabricators, and artists, as well as national and international design firms through various events and collaborations.
The Molecule Design Store was launched in September 2010 at 1226 Flagman Way in the vibrant Baca Railyard District. Adriana founded her design store in 2002 at a previous location in Santa Fe, NM. The first design partners Molecule worked with included Vitra Design Museum, Moooi, and Cherner Chair, among others. Today, it collaborates with world-class manufacturers such as Vondom, Loll Designs, and Moroso. Sustainability is a key area of interest and ongoing exploration for Molecule, which offers product lines focused on conservation and ecological stewardship. A recent alliance with the Vertical Aeroponic Growing System – Tower Garden, promises to inspire developments in the growing field of aeroponics as a cutting-edge approach to agriculture and industrial design.
Currently, Molecule is available through the online store and by appointment.