Daniel Silver
‘I think all my interest in archaeology and work that was made a thousand years ago, thousands of years ago, still carries that humanity in it, and I hope my objects will carry this in them in times to come.’
The sculptures of Daniel Silver (b. 1972, London) explore the many forms and iterations of the human body. His practice is influenced by the art of ancient Greece, modernism and Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Silver uses concrete, bronze, marble, stone, wood and clay, and his sculptures often manifest as monuments or fragments, as if belonging to an archaeological excavation. Silver moves restlessly between styles, always examining the physical and emotional impact of the body and its representations.
Silver's 2013 installation Dig, an Artangel commission, took place in a derelict London cinema, where he presented an imagined archaeological dig of sculptures looking both ancient and futuristic, conceived by the artist as a ‘history of sculpture’. In 2019, a commission for London’s Bloomberg Space resulted in a set of monumental, figurative works that spoke of the artist’s fascination with psychology as well as his profound interest in ancient cultures and archaeology. Recently, Silver has made a group of sculptures constructed from segments of unglazed ceramic, which he finishes with oil paint. In parallel with these sculptures, which he calls 'totems', the artist has created a series of ceramic heads. Once fired, each head is painted with oils, allowing the pigments to interact with the unglazed ceramic to create tactile surfaces and intimate expressions. Though his figures are fictitious, Silver regards them as familiar characters from anyone’s family. ‘I try to condense and carry the whole world into a person when I make them’, he says.
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Daniel Silver: Chorus and the Walking Tables
CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel 24 Nov 202224 November 2022–21 January 2023 The starting point of Daniel Silver's new solo exhibition at CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo entitled 'Chorus and the Walking Tables', is...Read more -
Daniel Silver & Nina Chua
Castlfield Art Gallery, Manchester 30 Oct 202230 October 2022–29 January 2023 Castlefield Gallery presents an exhibition of work by Nina Chua and Daniel Silver as part of an ongoing series of...Read more -
Daniel Silver: Two-person Exhibition
Castlefield Gallery, Manchester 30 Oct 2022Nina Chua and Daniel Silver 30 October 2022–29 January 2023 Castlefield Gallery presents a lively and exuberant exhibition of the work of Nina Chua and...Read more -
Daniel Silver: In conversation
Fruitmarket, Edinburgh 23 Jun 2022Daniel Silver in conversation with Phyllida Barlow 5 August 2022, 6.30–7.30pm Artists Phyllida Barlow and Daniel Silver in conversation about making sculpture and giving life...Read more
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Daniel Silver: Looking
Fruitmarket, Edinburgh 11 Jun 202211 June–25 September 2022 Edinburgh Festivals Exhibition Painted ceramic busts, figures, and abstracted totems/vessels ranging in scale from table top to over life sized are...Read more -
Daniel Silver: Acne Paper
Issue 16: The Age of Aquarius 10 Nov 2021Daniel Silver has contributed 12 zodiac sign artworks to the most recent issue of Acne Paper: No.16 The Age of Aquarius. Following the launch of...Read more
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Gallery Summer Show: Portrait 7 Jul - 12 Aug 2023 Golden SquareFrith Street Gallery presents Portrait, an exhibition of works by gallery artists considering the contemporary portrait through a range of perspectives and mediums. From sensitive images of loved ones to...Read more
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Found Forms: A Summer Show 1 Jul - 13 Aug 2022 Golden Square
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Daniel Silver
The Skin is the Depth 6 Apr - 16 May 2021 Online ExhibitionInfluenced by the art of ancient Greece, modernism and Freudian psychoanalytic theory, Daniel Silver’s sculptures often manifest as monuments or fragments, as if emerging from an archaeological excavation. Applying his...Read more -
Contemporary Excavations 3 Dec 2020 - 8 May 2021 Golden SquareFrith Street Gallery is delighted to present Contemporary Excavations, an exhibition featuring artists Gauri Gill, James Nelson, Daniel Silver and Rajesh Vangad, curated by Sandhini Poddar. Contemporary Excavations explores the...Read more
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Summer Viewing
7 Jul - 7 Aug 2020 Golden SquareWe are delighted to announce that after a period of Covid-induced closure, the gallery reopens to the public on Tuesday 7 July. Visit us at Golden Square for a summer...Read more -
Daniel Silver
14 Sep - 3 Nov 2018 Golden SquareFrith Street Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Daniel Silver, ranging from large herm-like sculptures in marble to smaller ceramic figures. The exhibition takes place...Read more -
Summer Breeze 6 Jul - 11 Aug 2017 Soho Square, Golden SquareThe works at Golden Square reveal how the notion of body is imbued with multiple meanings, including recurring bodies of artwork, or bodies of human subjects themselves. An analyst, an...Read more
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Daniel Silver
Rock Formations 16 Jan - 28 Feb 2015 Golden SquareThe art of ancient Greece is particularly important in Silver’s practice and many of the works in this exhibition have evolved from the study of statues and busts in the...Read more