A solo exhibition of artist Mike Silva’s works has opened at the Mead Gallery in Warwick Arts Centre and is on view until 22 June. Showcasing his recent works, this exhibition encompasses Silva’s portraits, interiors, and landscapes- all drawn from his constantly growing archive of photographic material. Using a palette of earthy tones, he sustains fleeting moments on his canvas, ready to be revisited. 

Sarah Shalgosky, curator at Mead,  further helps us understand this exhibition with her reading of Silva’s work. She also talks about the journey of bringing this exhibition to Warwick from De La Warr Pavilion, an arts centre in East Sussex and how it converses with its new environment. 

‍In our conversation at the opening, you mentioned that an exhibition with Mike Silva has been on your radar for a long time. Could you tell me a little about when you were first introduced to his work and what drew you to curating this retrospective?

I can’t remember exactly. I remember a very simple, very powerful portrait of a black man against a flat, highly coloured background. The handling of the paint was very assured and it was a supremely confident work despite being comparatively small. I wrote the name Mike Silva in a small notebook that I still have, which dates back to the 1990s. I have no idea where I saw it.  

More recently, I saw his work at Frieze and enjoyed the way he uses marks and colour to create spaces and light in his work. His gallerist noted my interest and invited me to subsequent exhibitions. The painting Red in the exhibition felt like the right purchase for the University of Warwick Art Collection in 2022.

A young man is held in a moment of washing a cup. It’s one of those moments when you don’t have to think at all, just respond to the sensation of the water on your hands. It’s a very tender portrait that could show a flat in a hall of residences as much as a home. I thought many of our students would be able to relate to the work, and I thought they might also respond to the sense that these small, everyday moments are valued and worthy of consideration.

You also discussed the history of the Mead Gallery, the current Scandinavian architecture, and how they all relate to Silva’s works. Can you tell me a little about this conversation between the Gallery space and this retrospective?

The exhibition was developed with the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea. Their gallery space has a wall of windows that look out on the sea, so it has incredible light. Our space is lit by daylight, which bounces down into the gallery space from architectural funnels on the roof. It is indirect and always changes as the sun moves around the space, and the clouds cover and uncover the sun. I love the gallery space in the summer since we’re open till 8pm, and the softening light is so beautiful as it plays across the walls.

We always conceived this exhibition as a show in which light was part of its content, both in terms of the paintings and in terms of the context in which they were shown. At the opening, someone noted how it seemed as if the light of the Mead Gallery was part of the light in the paintings, which was more than we could have hoped.  

There is a certain blurriness to Silva’s work that really adds to his paintings' photographic quality. Can you talk a little about his medium, choice of photographs or method of painting that speaks to you?

I think these paintings have a different quality to the blurring of paint in Gerhard Richter’s paintings from photographs. In Mike Silva’s work, it seems to me that they are part of the process of painting rather than of image-making. His marks build up the body of the form, and I’m fascinated by their consideration and when Silva chooses to stop painting. I think this strong commitment to painting in all Silva’s work stops them from being snapshots – instead, I think of them as extended moments, a sense of something held in place for as long as necessary.

 Which is your favourite work in this exhibition and why?‍

This is not an easy question! I think it has to be the most recent work in the show – Jason (Tulse Hill). It hangs on a wall on its own and has a dynamic force as the body falls backwards to empty the can of drink. The shadow of a window pane sits across the body and segments the direct light from the window. The areas around the figure hold reflected light, and the head and shoulders have colour leached from them by the shade. It’s incredibly complex and yet beautifully simple and familiar.