MIKE SILVA

Early Years

Born in Sandviken, Sweden, Silva received a BFA from Middlesex University, London, before completing an MA in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art, London in 1994.

Mike Silva Artworks

Working from an archive of personal photographs, Mike Silva’s paintings act as a window into his past and his personal memories.

Featuring interiors, still lifes, and predominantly male subjects, Silva’s photorealistic scenes capture his subjects in soft hues, a technique often foregrounded by the inclusion of a nearby window, allowing a dappled light to flicker across his canvases.

Intimacy and the comfort of familiarity run through his work, made palpable through scenes of casual unkemptness and a close proximity between subject and artist. Viewers are presented with familiar, and somewhat mundane, images of a kitchen sink and an unmade bed, as seen in Kitchen Window (2020) and Bedroom (2022), while Silva’s portraits capture lovers, friends, and acquaintances.

Silva’s paintings are rendered in oil on linen, achieving a smooth and tender portrayal of his subjects and eternalising his memories in the form of vignettes.

Mike Silva Exhibited

The representation of the male form is a common theme throughout Silva’s paintings.

In his 2022 solo show, Portraits and Interiors, at Anton Kern Gallery, Silva achieves a sense of both fraternal comfort and vulnerability between himself and his male subjects through his nuanced painting style.

Named after the subjects depicted, such as Mark (2) (2022), Owen (2022), and Jason (Hyde Park) (2022), his portraits retain the same familiarity of his unkempt interior scenes.

Spotlighting Silva’s works at The Approach in 2020, Ocula Advisory explained, ‘The men depicted in his portraits are often dressed in sports clothing or nineties streetwear, but Silva captures them in intimate moments, their gaze sometimes tenderly directed towards him; their hands are treated with the same degree of care as lips and eyes.’

Exhibitions

Mike Silva’s solo and group exhibitions include Interiors, The Approach, London (online) (2020); New Paintings, The Annexe, London (2019); Reconfigured, Timothy Taylor, New York (2021); and 10 for No 10, Whitechapel Gallery, London, among others.

Silva’s work can be found in the Tate Collection, London; the British Council; and the Saatchi Collection, among others.

Instagram

Silva’s Instagram can be found here.

Annabel Downes | Ocula | 2022