Artist Statement

I am a visual artist working in painting, printmaking and murals. Much of my work is framed by my experience as an Afro-Caribbean woman living and working in Boston. At the core of my practice is a desire to bring joy, connection, and agency to the places where my work lives. The murals have an unapologetic color palette, with a mix of rendered realistically painted areas juxtaposed with geometric patterns and forms.

As a muralist, my process is fueled by understanding a site's context and relationship to how the public engages with that space. Content is often determined through a collective, neighborhood-based community process, which I consider part of my social practice. I believe in the important role representation plays in this city and positively lift communities of color in the public art realm, empowering them to take up space through visual art.

My studio work provides a space for play and experimentation, allowing me to look inward, continue to hone my craft, and create more personal works. In the last several years, I’ve been exploring themes of identity, and cultural hybridity, using textiles, painting, printmaking, and collage to explore ideas of ancestral patterns, mapping, migration, and portraits.

Bio

Silvia López Chavez is a Dominican-American visual artist whose community-centered murals form connections across disciplines and cultural boundaries. She uses joy as an act of resistance and celebration through her vibrant work worldwide.

In 2023 Silvia received a Common Good Awards from MassArt, The Boston Foundation’s Brother Thomas Fellowship award and Amplify Latinx 100 award. Silvia is a Salon Luminary at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and honored with a Leadership in Public Art Award by New England for the Arts in 2021. She recently completed art residencies at Mass MoCa, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Haystack and Vermont Studio Center Commissions include the U.S. Chinese Embassy in Beijing, Google HQ in California, Peabody Essex Museum, City of Boston, SeaWalls Boston, MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern Universities. Silvia is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art & Design amd Altos de Chavon in the Dominican Republic. Silvia continues her studio practice close to the ocean between Boston and DR.

Resume available upon request.

Instagram: @silvialopezchavez

LinkedIn: @SilviaLopezChavez