An evening with Chris Silva
New York City in the 1990s was an unforgettable time. It was my home then and anything was possible. I photographed the late night electronic music scene, and our crew was made up of MTV creatives, artists, musicians, drag queens, photographers and DJs who played deep house and soul in small underground clubs packed with hipsters living large til the break of dawn. We’d reluctantly leave the clubs at closing time, then walk through neighborhoods with friends tagging the streets and leaving evocative marks that embellished the city. Projects fused and collaboration was everywhere. It was a time of immense creativity. We were connected and part of a community.
When I met Chris Silva, I was in a sense propelled back to that feeling of freedom. I appreciate his sense of artistic alliance and I can relate to his roots as a graffiti artist. I love his desire to create a meaningful world, which is reflected throughout his murals and public art commissions gracing the streets of Chicago. I’m particularly affected by his 3D-installations, where original music, sculpture, graffiti, video and recycled elements come together to generate visually stunning and emotional pieces. Chris’ positivity and integrity are an immense force in his work and his approach to making art is explorative and authentic. He reinforces the idea of connection and community, and that too, reflects what The White Palette is about.
Please join us at Chris’ home and studio, where we’ll discover his story, life and latest work, The Light Consumer. Brian Steckel & Chris Silva have teamed up to create an abstract composition of partially painted reclaimed wood, washed over with digitally sequenced light projections, which are meticulously synchronized to This Mother Falcon's "weirdly soothing" sound composition, "Live From The Omega Institute". The effect is a cross between watching a 3-dimensional music video and being in a strange and intimate cathedral space having a psychedelic/transcendental experience - and as those experiences are so often extremely personal, this is something which is much better to put yourself in front of rather than to read about.