Our Story
Founded by Alayo Akinkugbe and Alberto González Casero –
a pair with a shared love of craft, design, and the arts – BICHO is shaped by their backgrounds in art history and music. What brought us together—and continues to drive our work—is a desire to combine disciplines, to blur the lines between art and object, tradition and experimentation.
Our Story
We’re drawn to creating objects that spark conversation and create a sense of excitement, strangeness, and whimsy. Our creations invite you to step momentarily outside the everyday hum.
At the heart of our work is a deep respect for craft and collaboration—an ongoing conversation between the historic and the contemporary. We work with skilled weavers to bring an ancient medium into dialogue with contemporary art. Each object is infused with tradition while offering something new.
Founded by Alayo Akinkugbe and Alberto González Casero –
a pair with a shared love of craft, design, and the arts – BICHO is shaped by their backgrounds in art history and music. What brought us together—and continues to drive our work—is a desire to combine disciplines, to blur the lines between art and object, tradition and experimentation.
We’re drawn to creating objects that spark conversation and create a sense of excitement, strangeness, and whimsy. Our creations invite you to step momentarily outside the everyday hum.
At the heart of our work is a deep respect for craft and collaboration—an ongoing conversation between the historic and the contemporary. We work with skilled weavers to bring an ancient medium into dialogue with contemporary art. Each object is infused with tradition while offering something new.
“Bicho raro” is a Spanish expression used to describe someone or something who stands out, whether through odd behavior, unconventional appearance or a unique way of thinking. It translates literally to “weird bug" or “strange creature".
View of “Lygia Clark: The Abandonment of Art, 1948–1988,” 2014. Works from the series “Bichos” (Beasts), 1960–66.
Photo: Thomas Griesel.
Another reference point is Brazilian artist Lygia Clark’s Bichos, a series of mechanical yet animalistic, static yet dynamic, abstract sculptures created in the 1960s.
In each case, “bicho” represents something extraordinary. It is this which informs our design values: defying the ordinary, celebrating the unusual, and transcending the boundaries of everyday life.
“Bicho raro” is a Spanish expression used to describe someone or something who stands out, whether through odd behavior, unconventional appearance or a unique way of thinking. It translates literally to “weird bug" or “strange creature".
View of “Lygia Clark: The Abandonment of Art, 1948–1988,” 2014.
Works from the series “Bichos” (Beasts), 1960–66. Photo: Thomas Griesel.
In each case, “bicho” represents something extraordinary. It is this which informs our design values: defying the ordinary, celebrating the unusual, and transcending the boundaries of everyday life.
Another reference point is Brazilian artist Lygia Clark’s Bichos, a series of mechanical yet animalistic, static yet dynamic, abstract sculptures created in the 1960s.