Meet Harriet Silverstein | business

We had the good fortune of connecting with Harriet Silverstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Harriet, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
always admired the career trajectories of more mature artists that I followed and wanted to do that myself. There is something amazing to me about creative people – no matter what they do. I saw all these different routes that led to the same thing and that was freedom to pursue their work, to really do it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m a multimedia visual artist working in painting, sculpture, collage, printmaking, 3D Immersive Installation art and book art. It’s exciting to me that all of my work is recognizable for its textural, tactile and sensual visual qualities. My distinctive application of rich colors is intuitive, gestural and vibrant. I am most proud that my artwork is recognizable in all of the varied media I choose, and that I choose to constantly expand in new, artistic media. I love artistic materials that reveal my physical process and how raw energy thrives in a completed work. This is a really exciting time for me, as I moved my studio to a large, bright and private space closer to home, where I can make large paintings and sculptures. I have a new series of big abstract paintings and animal sculptures in progress. Since I’m always presenting new work, when you check back with me in a few months I’ll be happy to show them.

My work has been exhibited and commissioned in the US and Europe. I exhibit my paintings, collages and sculptures frequently in Broward and Palm Beach counties in galleries, museums and art fairs. I love working with clients on all kinds of commissioned projects and have solid experience creating residential and commercial projects in different media. I’ve created paintings and prints for large restaurants, corporate offices and private homes. I also make commissioned metal sculptures, of any size, of requested animals and even beloved pets (There are photos of a very special Goldendoodle that I was very happy to make for a client and a Blue Marlin created for a separate commission.)

In painting,I am inspired by natural color and light in the ways they define organic form, texture and color. The illuminating light of South Florida, with its brilliant brightness and deep, dark lishness in its shadows is especially inspiring to me. In painting, I love building layers of juicy color, scraping back, then adding more pools of color. My work provides the viewer with a strong graphic from a distance, but up close, they are rewarded with intricate layers of color and line.

My sculptures of endangered animals are meant to intensify awareness and appreciation for critically endangered animals in our world. My pet sculptures for any breed of dog or cat are always open to commissions. I choose my artistic media for the flexible, tangibly direct and expressive linear qualities I also love in painting and drawing. Holiday time is an especially busy time for these sculptures. It seems everyone has a favorite animal or knows someone who does. It’s best to place advance orders .

The recent paintings have a big biographical component. These ocean landscapes and abstract still lives belong to my immediate environment, my nearest reality, largely due to my belief that it is not necessary to go too far to find the universal in everyday life.

Most recently, I was invited by the City of Pompano Beach for a Solo exhibition at The Bailey Contemporary Art Center Gallery, from August to late November 2022 and exhibited my endangered animal paintings in the Oceans Away exhibition at GalleryOne, Fort Lauderdale January- March 2023. Right now, my work can be seen in a new art gallery show that opened last week, entitled Badass Women, at the Pride Corner Gallery , 2151 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors 33305.(through May 28) and right after that I’ll exhibit large paintings in the 20th Anniversary Art Exhibition at Las Olas Capitol Arts Gallery, 889 Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, June 8 to August 31.

My studio is open by appointment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
South Florida has so much diverse cultural content besides the obvious physical beauty of the beaches, although our beaches are super spectacular. I moved here 23 years ago, from Manhattan, and am nowhere near discovering all there is to offer, in this part of Florida alone. Since I live in Northwest Broward County, I’m very connected to this area and further north, as well as Fort Lauderdale. Some of my favorite places to explore for visual art art are the Nova Southeastern University Art Museum and ArtServe, both in Fort Lauderdale; The Bailey Art Gallery and Artist Studio in Pompano Beach, the Arts Warehouse and Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, and The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.

For live music, concerts and theater, there’s the Broward Center for the Performing Art and the The Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, and more concerts and jazz at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center. South Florida is foodie heaven for every kind of cuisine imaginable. To take advantage of local specials, I love both Little Havana and Sea Watch in Deerfield Beach, Rocco’s Tacos on Las Olas Blvd, Doc. B’s and the Top Hat Deli, Fort Lauderdale, Casablanca Cafe, Fort Lauderdale Beach. plus the plethora of beautiful restaurants on Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Atlantic Avenue, DelRay Beach. I could keep going for this subject but this is a good start!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout Out to Nile Fortner, Multimedia Journalist, Coral Springs; Adriene Clark, Senior Curator for the City of Pompano Beach and Juliana Forero, Senior Curator of The Frank Art Gallery and Studio 18. They are vital to the community and artists. Doug McGaw and Fat Village for creating a full community for artists, that was one of my absolute favorite places and art studios.

Website: artist@harrietsilverstein.com

Instagram: @harriet.silverstein

Other: harrietsilverstein.com