Severino Santos Silva was born in Boaventura, Madeira and currently resides in Strasbourg, France. Between 2007 and 2013 he attended several courses and workshops related to the fine arts and decorative arts, which led to the phosphorescent.
Do you have studies in art or have done some workshops to reach this reveal of the invisible?
Severino Santos Silva: No, I always drew since I was five years old, but then when my father died when I was twelve, I had to choose between the arts and also had good grades or biology, mathematics and physics. So I chose the scientific areas, did career in these areas and forgot the drawing. After age 37, one day I woke up and wanted to paint, I returned to the same vocation of my childhood, in this first year of painting wanted to do it alone, because I never had a course in painting. Then participated in an international competition in France, the aim was to paint a castle by the river Loire, I was third and then I enrolled in art school in Strasbourg, a night course.
How did you discover the phosphorescent?
SSS: In the first year of art school. I have been searching all dyes that could be interesting; I went into an industrial paint shop and found this pigment, which few people used because it certainly was to make markings on the ground in worksites. Suddenly, in that second I imagined a phosphor layer underneath and a thinner over to pass the light. And came to me this idea of phosphorescent, but I did not want early on exhibit in France, because the French gallery owners only show artists that allow them to sell more canvas and then as I painted differently and did not want to explain what I used or they wanted to know. I wish to see if the gallery owners were curious or not, but if you do not ask how I paint, then it is a person that has no wish to even show my work. And then I decided to come to Madeira.
But no gallery owner in Strasbourg was even curious?
SSS: Just spoke with two gallery owners and found a third gallery in New York that featured works of an artist who was phosphorescent carving. But, I waited three to four years to come to Madeira, because it was unable to come over for holidays.
You wished only to come to the island because you have been rejected elsewhere, or were always an initial idea to come here exhibit?
SSS: It is true that if I had had an opportunity to exhibit and sell in France certainly would have done it, but I just wanted to talk to the gallery owners and see how they worked. They told me that painting differently was for them a cost, because they work with artists with similar works and their customers will never buy something very different, because it means losing money and time. I think it's bad not to risk, Americans push more this factor, and the US gallery owners spend 10% of their income with new artists. In France no, they are doing anything.
You mean is that only accept you when you became famous as an artist?
SSS: I do not know they should be afraid of losing money and take risks with a person who they do not know.
Americans accepted that risk?
SSS: I wanted to wait, after Madeira. I just got a letter from a gallery that exhibits this type of work, because they already show a similar works to mine. In France, no.
There is a unifying thread between canvases beyond that ink? It is that they are all different?
SSS: It's true. I also wanted to risk different ways of painting with this pigment. What makes the exhibition of painting is that it has all one unit and I also wanted to do this, despite being my first time, you can see them during the day, note that has different styles and then what I like to do is turn off the light and people are amazed. In Strasbourg I did this experience, I invited 20 friends and showed them only the work with light, did not tell them I had using phosphorus, only when turned off the light and saw the pictures I painted were shocked and savored the moment. Only after explaining my work they realized the connection, the subject of the painting. All works have the pigment, has this layer phosphorescent, only when you turn out the light is that the traits appear and this is what makes the unity of the canvas.
What was the biggest challenge you've found with all this?
SSS: To make this type of painting is necessary to experiment on the paper and find a message to say, with this technique we have to have two layers, two different messages that can be complemented. A first hand of phosphor and the second layer of so-called normal inks. Have some questions and more than one answer, it took adaptation so that people could understand.
It's your scientific side that transported for your paintings? The questions and the invisible hand?
SSS: Without thinking you will see how I work. I always ask myself why? Why react the way they do? Many of these questions I put this exhibition.
What is the next step after this show?
SSS: I will work even harder with this ink, why not discover all of its capabilities and I know it will be different. People working in art, as in everything in life will like and others will not, is like the impressionism, in the beginning also no one wanted to show their works, because for the experts was not painting. This does not prevent me to paint differently, there will always be those who will not like and I will try to be even more precise and go further, pull the limits to the maximum.
