Latest Solo Exhibitions
"THERE IS AN INSTANT ..." at Archway Gallery, Houston, Texas.
March 06 - April 01, 2021.
March 06 - April 01, 2021.
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Press Release
When Silvia PintoSouza was very young, she read a poem titled, “There is an Instant,” by Guillermo Valencia, a 19th century Colombian poet and statesman. * The poem moved her deeply and has stayed with her ever since. “My original theme for this exhibition was “Old Barns” then the poem resurfaced from my memory in a very loud way and I was compelled to broaden that theme,” says PintoSouza. “A feeling of nostalgia took over ‐ a feeling of what was and is not anymore, but the spirit of which can still be felt.” Looking through the doors of an old and dilapidated barn, PintoSouza senses the presence of those who were there before, “the generations of families who cherished, worked, and stored so many hopes in it. These are nostalgic places imprinted with stories and memories that are not mine, but which I can sense. To me, this is the strength and symbolism of barns, their tangible link to the past.”
‘There is an Instant’ captures the moment when the sun sets ‐ the end of a day, as well as a metaphor for the end of a life ‐‐ a mission accomplished in a beautiful and generous way, full of nostalgia and feeling for what is about to end. A beautiful sunset can be enjoyed for just a few minutes before it ends, but the spiritual effect of having viewed it persists long afterwards. “I see in both, a crumbling barn and a glorious sunset, the stillness of existence,” says PintoSouza, “a silence that invades the moment. They both symbolize the completion of a journey, the successful completion of a day or a life’s work. They contain magic!”
Silvia PintoSouza’s paintings are intimate, romantic, and direct. Her message is the image itself, simply what you see. “Critics often overthink a piece of work,” she remarks. “They overlook the possibility that ‘the moment of beauty’ is what the artist wanted, nothing more. I hope that when you look at my work you are caught in that moment of beauty and living it, because to me Art is comfort. It is where we take shelter. It is the shoulder where we can rest our head.”
When Silvia PintoSouza was very young, she read a poem titled, “There is an Instant,” by Guillermo Valencia, a 19th century Colombian poet and statesman. * The poem moved her deeply and has stayed with her ever since. “My original theme for this exhibition was “Old Barns” then the poem resurfaced from my memory in a very loud way and I was compelled to broaden that theme,” says PintoSouza. “A feeling of nostalgia took over ‐ a feeling of what was and is not anymore, but the spirit of which can still be felt.” Looking through the doors of an old and dilapidated barn, PintoSouza senses the presence of those who were there before, “the generations of families who cherished, worked, and stored so many hopes in it. These are nostalgic places imprinted with stories and memories that are not mine, but which I can sense. To me, this is the strength and symbolism of barns, their tangible link to the past.”
‘There is an Instant’ captures the moment when the sun sets ‐ the end of a day, as well as a metaphor for the end of a life ‐‐ a mission accomplished in a beautiful and generous way, full of nostalgia and feeling for what is about to end. A beautiful sunset can be enjoyed for just a few minutes before it ends, but the spiritual effect of having viewed it persists long afterwards. “I see in both, a crumbling barn and a glorious sunset, the stillness of existence,” says PintoSouza, “a silence that invades the moment. They both symbolize the completion of a journey, the successful completion of a day or a life’s work. They contain magic!”
Silvia PintoSouza’s paintings are intimate, romantic, and direct. Her message is the image itself, simply what you see. “Critics often overthink a piece of work,” she remarks. “They overlook the possibility that ‘the moment of beauty’ is what the artist wanted, nothing more. I hope that when you look at my work you are caught in that moment of beauty and living it, because to me Art is comfort. It is where we take shelter. It is the shoulder where we can rest our head.”
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THERE IS AN INSTANT (Translation from Spanish by S. PintoSouza)
There is an instant at dusk when things shine more, a brief throbbing moment of a slow intensity. Tree branches turn velvety, towers smooth their contour, a bird engraves its silhouette on a sapphire like background. The afternoon changes, it concentrates on forgetting the light, and it is filled by the soft gift of a melancholic stillness, as if the orb gathered all its goodness and beauty, all its faith, all its grace to face the arriving shadow… |
My being flourishes at this hour of a mysterious blooming; I carry in my soul a twilight, of dreamy tranquility; in it burst the shoots of a spring like hope, and in it I inebriate myself with aromas of a garden which is ‘somewhere beyond’! *Guillermo Valencia (1873— 1943) Studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, spoke several languages, translated other literary works from French, Italian, and Portuguese authors, and led an active career as a statesman and a diplomat being twice a candidate for the presidency of Colombia in 1918 and 1930. It was actually his son Guillermo León Valencia who became president from 1962 to 1966. |
At the moment, there are four videos associated to S. PintoSouza ‘There Is An Instant…’ Exhibition. In these videos the Artist talks about her career, and the inspiration for creating the artworks which are displayed at the Exhibition, consisting of acrylic paintings and ceramic pieces. The videos also provide virtual tours of the Exhibition, and the Gallery. They can be viewed as a YouTube Playlist by clicking either the image, or the link below the image.
"URBAN AND RURAL DWELLINGS" at The Jung Center Art Gallery, Houston, Texas.
November 16 - December 18, 2019.
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"DWELLINGS" at Archway Gallery, Houston, Texas. June 2 - July 3, 2018.
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Artist Statement
Through the centuries, each civilization has typically had different types of dwellings developed by the society of the time. Vitruvius, a 1st century Roman architect, described the three qualities required of architecture in his treatise, De architectura as being: Firmness, Usefulness, and Delight; these include aesthetic, sensual, and intellectual qualities. Silvia PintoSouza explains, “No matter where I go, I recognize these architectural qualities and when viewing dwellings from afar, I feel invited to imagine what goes on in these spaces. Each one of those structures has many stories to tell. Their walls touch but they hide so many separate intimate activities of their inhabitants. The buildings are alive; they resemble their occupants and their cultural values. I feel there is so much activity enclosed in those walls; all the years of continuous settlement and successive interventions have each left their imprints. They tell me from every corner, ‘Life is happening here!’ |
To see the "Dwellings" Exhibition Original Paintings click here.
Copyright © 2000, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 S. PintoSouza