ARTIST

Artist's Statement

I think that the act of re-creating a form, by hand, in a different, transformative material enables us to experience that object again ... as if for the first time. We see its true form as interpreted by the artist and not just its utilitarian identity.

I search for clear ways to reduce and reassemble the chaos and complexity of my subjects. Because this process, the back and forth of creation and destruction, is actually visible in the sculpture, we are able to observe the artist's mind at work, and share the visual consciousness of another.

Silvia Davis

Biography

Born in Cupertino, California to Swedish immigrants, Silvia L. Davis moved to Salt Lake City at the age of 9.  She received a B.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Utah in 1980.  The same year she found an old remote warehouse in west Salt Lake which she converted to a sculpture studio and adapted to fit the needs of wood sculpture.  Here she began an intense development of a highly personal expression in wood.

To support the work of these early ideas she worked as a theatrical technician, painting elaborate sets of backdrops and carving theatrical sculpture.  She also worked as a technician for a natural history museum.  Here she prepared, cast and did sculptural work on fossils for skeletal systems.  By these means she supported her work for years until it began to receive support.

She has been the recipient of much recognition for her work as a sculptor including the North American Sculpture Award in 1983.    

Davis has executed numerous public and private commissions including a commission for the U.S. Film Festival in 1987.

She has shown extensively in group, one and two person exhibits in Utah, Colorado, California, Arizona, and New Mexico.