The human soul is my greatest source of inspiration. Thus, the connections between psychology and art have been my passion and the constant subject of my paintings. I became fascinated with this theme during my practice as a clinical psychologist, an experience that helped me to infuse my art with principles based on different lines of thought in psychology (Freudian concepts, ideas from phenomenology, concepts of the psychology of Gestalt and some Jungian concepts are particularly important to my artworks).
Since I moved to Minnesota, instead of continuing my clinical practice, I have centered my focus exclusively on painting, making it my way of stimulating people’s psychological dynamics. The intention of my work is to motivate people to creatively question what they are seeing, and to get in touch with their innermost being. For me, art is a type of embodiment in which experience creates matter that creates experience. It is a sensitive phenomenology that awakens perception by addressing the senses directly.
I usually create series of artworks in which I explore topics related to the connections between art and psychology. In several of my oil, encaustic, mixed media and wearable artworks, for instance, I reflect on the concept of memory. My series of abstract landscapes, are a collection of memories, feelings and impressions gathered during my travels. Every landscape I create is a way to pay homage to special places I have been to, transforming them into a journey of storytelling and memoir.
I am also particularly interested in the qualities of matter and media that make the passage of time more visible. From my perspective, the passage of time is intimately associated with a multitude of psychological dynamics and highlights the idea that the act of seeing is actually an act of comprehending. We see things not only with our brain, but also through our experience, and this experience is part of an array of psychological processes that go beyond our awareness.
I am an unsettled artist and have explored a variety of art forms during my life. In addition to painting, I have worked intensely with wearable art. My jewelry collection is a group of wearable artworks in which I encase fragments of my large sculptural encaustic reliefs to create necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings that express my vision of a confidence-inspiring beauty.
Thus, in all my pieces, I seek to play with elements pertaining to the act of producing and beholding art to reflect on the connections between images and the mind. As a psychologist, I am interested in the complex relationship between the viewer and the act of seeing. As an artist, I am deeply interested in the continuous feedback between matter and sensation that opens up perception. Images, for me, are a psychological experience of pleasure, culturally determined and socially legitimated.
PBS-TV Art Show segment aired in 2010 feauturing the work of artist Silvana LaCreta Ravena
Silvana LaCreta Ravena: Embodiments of Art and Psychology / by Adam Eisenstat
Silvana LaCreta Ravena is a versatile painter who works in oils, resin and encaustic, creating series of abstract pieces inspired by her passion for the human soul. She is fascinated by the connections between art and psychology. Their paintings and sculptural collages, meticulous in the use of color and textures, invite the viewer to dig into the layers of material hidden in these surfaces, in a poetic archeology.
She also creates wearable art collections of jewelry in which leftover fragments of her large sculptural encaustics are encased in resin, metal and leather. These leftovers are her precious stones and help her to orchestrate bold shapes in surprising angles, translating her viosion of a confidence-inspiring beauty.
Further acquaintance with Silvana’s unique biography and the sources/inspirations behind her oeuvre reveal an artist who has deftly marshaled passion, intellectual rigor, and solid technique to create a genuinely original body of work. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, she was born in family in which psychology and art are blended. According to Silvana, the open spirit and the generosity of her parents, along with their creativity and intuition, awakened in her and her siblings the curiosity about people’s minds and their forms expression. Both her sisters in Brazil work in film (one is a director and the other film editor), one of them being also a practicing psychologist, as well as her brother and herself.Her work as a clinical psychologist and her background as an artist inspired her to explore in more depth those areas where art and academia, theory and practice converge. She was educated as a psychologist and also holds degrees in art therapy, art history and a master’s degree in fine arts.
She has explored a variety of art forms during her life. The work as a production designer in film and, later, video art, led to her being offered a fellowship to study art and design at New York University, which she had to decline in order to finish her psychology degree. Her favorite art form, though, has always been painting. When she was four years old her parents gave her a set of watercolors and an easel. Little did they realize the career they had set in motion, for with that easel she officially began her life as artist!
From a young age, she went to museums and galleries with her family and, according to Silvana, she can still recall the day her mother introduced her to an art book featuring works by the Italian Renascence master Raphael Sanzio: “Those images stroke me immediately”, says Silvana, “I asked my mother what that was and she told me: this is painting, my dear. From that moment on I fell totally in love with painting”.
At the age of eight, she took her first art classes with Bernardo Cid, a well-known Brazilian painter, a seminal experience that undoubtedly laid the groundwork for her future artistic endeavors. She continued with art workshops and courses throughout her youth. With art already such a big part of her life, by the time she was ready for college she pursued a degree in psychology. This choice grew out of her interest in the connections between fine art and behavior, especially the psychological dynamics behind memory and self-expression. After earning her degree in psychology, she worked in a clinical setting for many years while pursuing degrees in art therapy and art history.
At the time, in addition to showing her art works in art centers, she also taught art and art history. Since moving to the USA, she has established her studio in Minnesota and focused all her energy on painting. She is represented by galleries in multiple cities in the US and Brazil, has exhibited regularly in various venues throughout the US, EU and Brazil, and has received prestigious art awards in the US and Germany. Her work has also been featured in national and international art publications, in television art shows and her pieces are owned by collectors both in the US and Brazil.
Silvana’s nontraditional combinations of techniques brings further variety to her pieces through the use of custom-made colors and additional manipulations of the materials. With different mixtures of wax and resin, for example, she creates layers in her paintings intended to bring the layers of the psyche to life; the paintings’ textures are not merely symbolized, but are present on the canvas. The work is decidedly three-dimensional and demands a live experience—it is impossible to perceive the paintings’ rich textures by seeing them online or in print only.
The unique combination of elements Silvana LaCreta Ravena brings to her work — artistic, personal, and professional — gives her the credibility of an original. While each individual piece of hers certainly “speaks for itself,” when seen in the context of the artist’s background, ideas, and singular technique, it clearly gains a degree of vitality and significance that indicates the true measure of the work. From her first watercolor at age of four to the thesis she wrote for her last degree, her education, life experiences and her professional endeavors have been synthesized with her art practice, serving as its natural background. Adam Eisenstat, art writer, for Xanadu Gallery, AZ, USA).
Selected Art Exhibits:
2022 Coletiva 22, Galeria VerArte, SP, Brazil
2022 Centenário do Modernismo, Galeria VerArte, SP, Brazil
2021 Coletiva Verarte, Galeria VerArte, SP, Brazil
2021 The Soul, online group show, Larks Gallery, LA, US
2020 Archeology of Color no Metro, Galeria VerArte & Metro de São Paulo, SP, Brazil
2019 The Past as Future, Group Show, Wendy Frieze Gallerist, MN, USA
2019 Group show, Galeria VerArte, SP, Brazil, June
2018 Art of Gift, Veronique Watz Gallery, December, MN, USA, (Decembe)
2018 Fall Salon, Veronique Wantz Gallery, MN, USA, (September)
2018 Group Show, Wendy Frieze Gallerist, (November)
2018 Coletiva, Galeria Verarte, São Paulo, Brazil, (June)
2018 The Locals, Veronique Wantz Gallery, MN, USA, (February)
2017 Art & Travel Embodiments: Silvana L Ravena”, solo show, Wendy Frieze & Nash, MN, US
2017 Silvana Ravena, solo show, Colorida Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
2107 Wanderlust, solos show, Artwork Network Gallery, Denver, CO
2017 Summer Show, Wendy Frieze Gallerist and Nash, Minneapolis, MN ( May)
2016 The Interdimensional Series, solos show, Veronique Wantz Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2016 Mind Your Beeswax, The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Minneapolis, MN (April)
2015 Silvana LCreta Ravena: Works on Paper, solos show, collection WM, Minneapolis, USA
2015 Silvana L Ravena, solo show, Owatonna Art Center Art Axhibit, Owatonna, MN, USA
2015 Vivid Visions: Pristas, Ravena, Botero, Artwork Network Gallery, Denver, CO, USA
2015 Summer Show, Veronique Wantz Gallery, Minneapolis, USA
2015 Vanguard Visionaires, Art Platform NYC gallery booth, ARTE EXPO New York 2015, NYC, NY, USA
2015 International Exposure, NT Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
2014 Silvana LaCreta Ravena 2014, solos show, Artwork Network Gallery, CO, USA
2014 Healing with Arts”, Hudson Hospital, WI, USA
2014 ArtExpo New York City, (Arblend Gallery booth), NYC, NY, USA
2013 Silvana LaCreta Ravena, solos show, Artwork Network Gallery, Denver, CO, USA
2013 Summer Show: Aldo Moroni and Silvana LaCreta Ravena, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2013 Textured Translations”, solo show, The Phipps Center for The Arts, Hudson, WI, USA
2013 An Archeology of Color, Bloomington Center for the Arts, Bloomington, MN, USA
2013 Arts and Healing, Westfileds Hospital, New Richmond, WI
2013 Above and Beyond, Veronique Wantz Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2013 Gallery Group Show, Veronique Wantz Gallery,Minneapolis, MN, USA
2013 Eight International Artists, Artists Haven Gallery, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
2013 Earth, 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2012 International Artists, Artist Haven Gallery, Ft Lauderdale, FL, USA
2012 Woman and Water Rights III: Concerning Wate”, The Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, WI, USA
2012 International Contemporary Masters 2012”, Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Arts, Las Vegas, NV, USA
2012 13 International, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL , USA
2011 In Search of Beauty: Abstractions by Silvana L. Ravena, solo show, Nina Bliese Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2011 Artwork Network Gallery Features Silvana Ravena, solo show, AN Gallery, Denver, CO, USA
2011 Off The Wall, solo show, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN, USA
2011 Eight Artists, Artists Haven Gallery, Ft Lauderdale, FL , USA
2011 Consequential Fusion : Messages in Wax, Morro Bay Art Center, Morro Bay, CA, USA
2011 Abstractions, Woman Made Gallery , Chicago, IL, USA
2011 International Contemporary Artists IV, Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Arts – Las Vegas, NE, USA
2011 Woman Made Gallery Gala Fundraise Event – Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2011 Temporality - 2011 WARM Members Exhibit, Grain Bell Bottle House, Minneapolis, , MN, USA
2011 Arizona Aqueous, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac , AZ, USA
2010 Women and Water Rights: Rivers of Regenerations II, Cascade Meadow Science Center, Rochester, MN, USA
2010 The Art of Mentorship – Ines Greenberg Gallery – Bloomington Art Center, Bloomington, MN, USA
2010 A World of Artists“, Artist Haven Gallery, (Michael Joseph curator), AH Gallery, Ft Lauderdale, FL, USA
2010 Minnetonka Center for the Arts 2010 Biennial, (Bob Bowman curator), MCA, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2010 Eight International Artists”,(Michael Josephcurator), AH Gallery, Ft Lauderdale, FL, USA
2010 International Contemporar Masters III” , Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Arts, Las Vegas, NE
2010 WARM Currents, (Beate Minkovsky curator), NK Building, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2010 Women and Water Rights, (Lucy Lippard curator), Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2009 Showcase: Encaustics by Silvana LaCreta Ravena, solos show, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN, USA
2009 Memory Moves: Encaustics by Silvana LaCreta Ravena , solos show, Bohlander Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2009 Mirando al Sur, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
2009 Travel Stories , Altered Esthetics Gallery , Minneapolis, MN, USA
2009 The Struggle Within, Altered Esthetics, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2009 WARM Chronicles , Minneapolis, MN, USA
2009 Sketch it out , APW Gallery , NY, USA
2009 World of Imagination Vol.02”, APW Gallery , NY, USA
2009 Rejected!, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2008 Silvana LaCreta Ravena and Betsy Dollar, The Minnesota Women’s Building , St Paul, MN, USA
2008 Arts of the Holidays, Minnetonka Center for the Arts, MN, USA
2008 ART ATTACK 2008 , Northrup King Building, Minneapolis, MN, USA,
2008 MCA Annual Juried Exhibition, Minnetonka Center for the Art, -USA
2008 Art Spring Collection 2008, Belfry Center, Minneapolis, MN , USA
2008 Bitter Fruits, Anxiety Dreams” Althered Esthetics, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2008 Midwest Sanctuary” Althered Esthetics, Minneapolis, MN, USA
2006 Masters DegreeArt Exhibit, Eugene Villon Space, Faculdade Santa Marcelina, SP, Brazil
2005 Women Sitting on a Bench In a Piazza, solo show, Carmen Perrone Gallery, SP, Brazil
2001 Art Salon of Barueri, City Hall Theatre of Barueri, SP, Brazil
1998 II Architecture Design Exhibition” Bebedouro, SP, Brazil
1998 Daily Scenes, Bank of Brasil, solos show, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
1997 Transparency and Light, solo show, Municipal Theatre of Bebedouro, SP, Brazil
1997 Interior, solo show, Caixa Econômica Federal Bank of Bebedouro City, SP ,Brazil
1997 Bebedouro Art Salon , City Hall of Bebedouro, SP, Brazil
1996 Colors Transparencies II, Mokiti Okada Foundation, SP, Brazil
Education : Master of Fine Arts, (Santa Marcelina College, SP, Brazil, 2004-2006), Post Graduate degree in Art History ( Armando Alvares Penteado College, SP, Brazil, 1997-1999), Post Graduate degree in Art Therapy ( Sedes Sapientiae Institute, SP, Brazil ,1993-1996 ) , Bachelor of Science – Psychology, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, SP, Brazil, 1980-1985).
Private Art Collections (partial list): Mr and Ms. Barrett, Denver, USA, Ms. R. Elise, Belgique, EU, Ms. D. Hoffer, Denver, USA, Mr. Y. Salon, Denver, USA, Ms. L. Vincent, Minnesota, USA, Ms. K. Scully, Virginia, USA, Mr. K. Kirvida, Minnesota, USA, Ms. M. Kunz, Minnesota, USA, Ms. W. Frieze, Minnesota, USA, Mrs. H. Dawe, Minnesota, USA, Mrs. and Mr. Lattu, MN, USA, Mrs. T Guedes, Colorado, USA, Mr . J Horejs, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, Mr. and Mrs. P. Angelone, MT, USA , Mr. and Mrs. J. Peppel, MN, USA, Mrs. A. Merlin, Minnesota, USA, Ms. K. Huertas , São Paulo, Brazil , Ms. M. R. Manile , São Paulo, Brazil, Mr. H. LaCreta Jr., São Paulo, Brazil, Mr. and Mrs E. Ravena, São Paulo, Brazil, Ms. M. Ravena, São Paulo, Brazil, Mr.JP. Correia, São Paulo, Brazil , Ms. C. Campanelli, São Paulo, Brazil, Ms. V. Godoy, Bebedouro, ,Brazil, Ms. R. La Creta, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Mr. and Mrs. M. Manile, São Paulo, Brazil, Mr and Mrs. A. Vergueiro, São Paulo, Brazil, Mr. and Mrs. H. Bule Arruda, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Commissioned Art Works, Grants and Art Awards: Honorable Mention Award, Le Circle, Paris, France, 1stPrize, 2014, Palm Art Award, Leipzig, Germany, Award of Merit, 2013, Palm Award, Leipzig, Germany, 3rdPlace Award, 2013 Artists Haven Gallery International Fine Arts Competition, Artist Haven Gallery, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA , Artist of the Year, 2011, TOSCA magazine, Minneapolis, MN, USA, Award of Excellence, Palm-Art Award 2010, Art Domain Gallery, Leipzig, Germany, 2010 , 3rdArtslant 2010 Showcase contest – Showcase Winner Award, NC, US, 2010, 2009 Featured Artist Contest Winner, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 2009, CAPES The Art Research Council of São Paulo- scholarship (2004-2006) , Commissioned work, Ms. Heather D., MN, USA., Commissioned work to Mr. and Mrs. Philip and Linda A. ,Middleton, MA, USA, 2009, Commissioned work to Ms. Rosa M. , Sao Paulo, Brazil, Commissioned work to Mr. and Mrs. Mauricio and Marcia M. , Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, 2005, Commissioned work to Cargill Brazil, SP , Brazil, 1997., Commissioned works to Art Bis Stores, SP, Brazil, (1993 through 1997) , Commissioned works to Cultural Department of Bebedouro City, SP, Brazil, 1995.
Press, Interviews and Art Publications: Interview for Veronique Wantz Gallery’s Lunch Time Reading, 2017;Art Compass 2016, Ulrich Himmelblau curator, Whois publishers, Leipzig, Germany, 2016;Internationale Kunst Heute 2016, Martina Koelle, IKH publishing, Munchen, Germany, 2016; Who is Who in Visual Arts 2014-15, Ulrich Goette Himmelblau, Art Domain Whois, Leipzig,
Germany, 2015;“Bright Works on Display at the Owatonna Art Center in October”, article by Kim Hyatt, Owatonna People’s Press and Owatonna.com, Owatonna, MN, USA, 2015; Studio Visit Magazine# 23 , The Open Studio Press, Boston, MA, 2015; Artblend Vol 1, Michael Joseph, Michael and Elaine Joseph Pbls, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, 2014 ;Featured Artists Vol. IV, (Cover page), Peter Doughty curator, Meadiaplan Pbls, Winchester, MA,USA and N. Faliro, Athens, Greece, 2014; Important World ArtistsVol 1, Thomas & Myrina Tunberg, WWAB, Santa Barbara, CA, 2013;Who is Who in Visual Arts, 2012-213, Ulrich Goette Himmelblau, Art Domain Whois, Leipzig,
Germany, 2013; International Contemporary Artists Vol. 7, Despina Tumberg, Curator, WWAB Pbls, Santa
Barbara, CA, 2013; Local Artists Interviews, Featured Artist interview July 2012 – LAI, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 2013; Who is Who in Visual Arts2011-12, (cover) Art Domain Verlag Pblsh. Lepzig, Germany, 2012 ; International Contemporary Artists, Vol.5, Despina Tunber curator, WWA Pbls, CA, 2012 ; International Dictionary of Art, (cover), Despina Tunberg curator, WWAB, St, Barbara, CA, 2011
PR-Logpress online, “Julie Ann Segal comments on Silvana Ravena’s Sight”, http://www.prlog.org/11534090-interior-designer-julie-ann-segal-comments-on silvana-lacreta-ravena-artwork-red-sight.html, June, 2011; “Studio Visit Magazine”# 14– Art Catalogue, art works and artistic profile- The Open Studio Press, Boston, MA, May 2011;“TOSCA”Magazine, Featured Artist of the Spring Issue, 2011, TOSCA Art Guide editors, Twin Cities, USA, 2010; “International Contemporary Masters- IV”, WWAB Publishers Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 2010; TOSCA Magazine, Winter Issue, 2011, TOSCA Art Guide editors, Twin Cities, USA, 2010; “Who is Who in Visual Art, Vol.2010-2011”, Art Domain Verlag, Leipzig, Germany, 2010 ; “Dictionary of Art Vol. III”, by Despina Tunberg, WWAB Publisher, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 2010
“ International Contemporary Masters – III” WWAB Publishers, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 2010; Blogged at Chris Madsen’s Everyday Friends Art blog, September, 2010; Featured artworks in the article : “Meditation on Light and Form” by Mary Abbe, Star Tribune
newspaper, June, 2010 ; Featured artist in the article: ”Friendship and Facebook”, by Rosana Almeida, “Nossa Gente”
newspaper, Orlando, FL, US, June 2010 ; Solo show “ Memory Moves” featured in news paper “The Messenger”, Minneapolis, MN, US,
August 2009 ; Blogged at Marge Bohlander Art Gallery blog, June 200; Artist statement published in the book “From Starving to Successful”, by Jason Horejs, Sep.2009 ; Featured artist at “Red Dot, News from Xanadu Gallery”, July 2009, monthly news letter by Xanadu Gallery, AZ, US ; Featured artist at Myspace.com, Feb. 2009; Featured works in “We Come from Everywhere: Midwest Sanctuary at Esthetics”, by Matt
Conrad, January 2008, at Mnartists online publication ; Interviewed artists at Radio Bebedouro, City of Bebedouro, SP, Brazil, 2005
Article about the show” Women chatting on a Piazza”, in the newspaper “ Gazeta de Bebedouro”, City of Bebedouro, SP, Brazil, 2005
