Chiara Silvano: Naive Oil Paintings and Meditative Textile Art

Chiara Silvano is an Italian artist based in Venice who bridges the gap between traditional painting and contemporary textile art. Educated at the Wimbledon College of Art in London, the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Nantes in France, and the University IUAV in Venice, her academic background in Fine Art Painting and Visual Arts informs her multidisciplinary approach. Her practice is deeply personal, often described as a 'travel journal' that captures traces of her existence and emotional being. Silvano's signature technique involves blending oil on canvas with embroidery, threads, and fabric collage. This process is inherently meditative; the slow act of sewing into the canvas allows her thoughts to decelerate, creating a three-dimensional depth that mirrors her inner insights. Her style is frequently categorized as naive, characterized by rapid gestures, intense colors, and a spontaneous yet harmonic perspective. This tactile approach brings a unique physicality to her work that distinguishes her within the contemporary art scene. She has exhibited her work internationally, notably in Germany, where she held a solo exhibition titled 'Das Gewicht der Leichtigkeit'. Her works, such as 'Civetta' and various portrait series, reflect a constant interplay between lightness and restlessness. Chiara Silvano continues to explore how art can reflect real life, using her various identities as stimulations for her creative process in Venice. Her work celebrates suspended emotional states, conveying a sense of rebirth and the urgency of feeling.