About the artist

Artist Bio

Francisco Silva was born in Lima, Peru, and immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of three, settling in New Jersey. Encouraged by his parents, he began drawing from an early age and later studied at Parsons School of Design, where he focused on composition, color, oil painting, and graphic design.

After graduating, Silva exhibited in group shows and later began working as a graphic designer at an art magazine. Over time, his career shifted from graphic design to web development, placing painting on hold for several years. In 2019, he returned to oil painting with renewed purpose, beginning with landscapes inspired by his backpacking experiences on the Appalachian Trail.

His current work explores themes of social critique and the emotional landscape of everyday life. Drawing inspiration from Edward Hopper and the Social Realist painters of the 1920s and ’30s, Silva uses vibrant color informed by his Peruvian heritage and a combination of loose, expressive brushwork and controlled detail to create representational scenes that resonate with contemporary issues.

Artist Statement

My painting practice explores class, justice, and the quiet forces that shape everyday American life. While grounded in observation, my work seeks to move beyond surface representation—using ordinary moments, people, and places to raise questions about power, inequity, and resilience.

Much of my work begins on location, where I paint landscapes and figures from life in both urban and rural settings. These scenes—seemingly mundane at first glance—offer a deeper look into the lives of working people and the structures that surround them. Whether capturing a solitary figure, a neighborhood street, or the objects that fill a modest home, I approach each subject as a way to reflect on broader social conditions.

Though representational, my paintings aim to provoke rather than simply portray. Through composition, gesture, and mood, I invite viewers to consider the lived experience of others—and to recognize the dignity and complexity within the everyday.