BELA SILVA
at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she obtained a master’s degree. After settling in New York, she immersed herself in the city’s artistic life, earning a living by selling drawings to illustrate articles for The New York Times. “Louise Bourgeois used to welcome young artists into her home on Sundays. She was very kind to me and advised me to create large‑scale works.” On returning to Lisbon in 2007 she followed her advice and, while not abandoning drawing, increasingly devoted herself to ceramics, a medium that requires space. She acquired her first studio, and a romance that took her to Belgium gave her the opportunity to secure a second in Brussels. From then on, Bela Silva was constantly productive, working in both cities where her sculptures of fantastical animals and large glazed vases attracted the interest of discerning connoisseurs. Her 2017 exhibition at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon cemented her reputation. Around the same time, she crossed paths with interior designer Jacques Grange who was also captivated by her poetic, baroque aesthetic. He purchased her vases but, more importantly, commissioned her to create lamps, side tables, coffee tables, fireplace surrounds, and wall murals for his
3 l Baroques et foisonnantes, ses créations s’inspirent d’une nature sublimée.
4 l À côté d’une chaise dessinée par Bijoy Jain (Studio Mumbai), la table basse Feuillages, en céramique émaillée.
projects. Bela’s renown became international, and other designers including Lionel Jadot, Gert Voorjans and Peter Marino followed suit. “I’m proud to have a table at Tiffany’s in New York, thanks to Peter,” she says with a smile. This foray into decorative design did not however stop her from continuing to create deeply personal sculptures and indulging her passion for drawing. Works that are equally lyrical and colourful and which appear in the monograph she is releasing today, rubbing shoulders with creations glazed in that distinctive blue inspired by Atlantic waves, as well as with a life‑sized crocodile that will be the highlight of her simultaneous exhibition at the Galerie du Passage in Paris. “You could say that Jacques Grange and Pierre Passebon are my fairy godfathers.”
5 l Quand la cheminée devient œuvre d’art, dans une maison décorée par Gert Voorjans à Knokke.
Bela Silva, Flammarion, 264 pages, €95 Bela Silva exhibition, Galerie du Passage www.galeriedupassage.com
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