Press Release Therapy: Part two
Therapy No. 9 (Safe Passage), 2011, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 60”
Recent Work: Therapy: Part Two. Denise Bibro Fine Art, 529 West 20th Street, Chelsea, NYC is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition of Viviane Silvera, Recent Work: Therapy: Part Two.
In the Therapy series, Silvera created paintings based on films she felt provided a convincing portrayal of the therapist-patient relationship, and had assumed an importance in her own life and personal narrative. Here, the therapy room becomes as important as the narrative they express. The use of light in Therapy Part Two acts as homage to the film Ordinary People where cinematic lighting is used to indicate the patient’s descent into the subconscious. Here, light is used to create a mysterious chiaroscuro, illuminating a dark, dream-like chamber where one’s inner dramas are played out. Silvera eliminated specifics—especially faces—so that the paintings did not become a “name that actor” exercise, but rather chose to evoke and extrapolate on specific themes, including revealing and concealing, disconnection and connection, present and past, interior and exterior, and the possibility of recovery. The paintings aim to touch upon something universal and archetypal—much as the therapist-patient relationship seeks to do—allowing the viewer to use them as a mirror for a variety of relationships or moods.
Silvera has had solo exhibitions at 511 Gallery, NYC, Ratio Gallery, Bellport, LI and Gallery Boreas, Williamsburg, NY. Among the group exhibitions she has been included in are Edward Hopper House, Small Matters of Great Importance, Curated by Ken Carbone, Nyack, NY, Mexico City-Museo de la Cuidad de Mexico, Draw, Curated by Erik Foss and Curse Mackey, The Albright Knox Collectors Gallery, Buffalo, NY, Hudson County Arts Annual, Metropolitan Memories, Curated by Mara Jayne Miller, NJ, Phillips de Pury, Take Home a Nude, NYC, and Dahesh Museum, A New Generation, NYC. Silvera has also received numerous awards, grants and residencies affiliated with the Newington-Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, National Sculpture Society, NYC, Vermont Studio Center, VT, Harriet Whitney Frishmuth Travel Award, National Academy of Design, NYC, etc. She is in many private and corporate collections including the Tullman Collection, Chicago, IL, The Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, AK, and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. She has had several notices including the NY Times, Gotham Magazine, and, most recently, she is featured in the June, 2013 issue of the Art Connoisseur Magazine. Reception for the artist will be held Thursday, May 16, 2013, 6 – 8pm.
Reception for the artist will be held Thursday, May 16, 2013, 6 – 8pm.