NYAB Event - Viviane Silvera "Therapy"

Viviane Silvera "Therapy"

511 Gallery

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511 GALLERY presents the opening of Viviane Silvera’s solo exhibition of new paintings, Therapy.

In this new body of work, Silvera explores the human condition by bringing the underlying interpersonal emotion of the therapeutic environment to the fore. Drawing her inspiration from popular sources such as the television series In Treatment and a number of films including Ordinary People, and Good Will Hunting, Silvera has created a series of monochromatic paintings that are simultaneously haunting and poignant.

The pieces in the series range in size from the very intimate to the monumental and have been rendered using an expressive painterly style. With thick layers of vibrant cobalt blue, red, and grounded brown pigments, Silvera heightens certain aspects of each scene, diluting the identity of the actors, highlighting their moods and positions, and ultimately transforming patient and therapist into archetypal figures of the human psyche. In each work Silvera explores a spectrum of tonalities to bring the intrinsic emotions of each relationship to the surface. Charged with dramatic effects of the light and shadow the resulting monochromatic canvases are equally opulent and stirring.

In this series, Silvera continues her attempt to “pinpoint universal, iconic gestures” which has become a hallmark of her work. These paintings touch on the loneliness of the human condition in a truly captivating way. The installation of Therapy will run from September 22nd through October, but Silvera plans to continue her development of the series in the coming months to incorporate imagery from new sources.

Viviane Silvera lives and works in New York City. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Brazil. She was art-schooled at the Art Student’s League and the National Academy of Design, and later received her MFA at the New York Academy of the Arts. She has participated in numerous solo and group shows most recently, Draw at Mexico City-Museo de la Cuidad de Mexico, and Take Home a Nude at Philips de Pury in New York City. Viviane Silvera is currently on the Faculty at the National Academy School of Fine Arts.