Bela Silva was born in Lisbon, Portugal. She lives and works between Brussels, Lisbon and Paris. In Portugal she studied at the School of Fine Arts in Porto and Lisbon, and at Ar.Co. She attended Norwich Fine Arts in the United Kingdom and the Art Institute of Chicago in the United States of America. Her works have been exhibited at the Ann Nathan Gallery, the Rhona Hoffman Gallery, the Lisbon Tile Museum, the Anastácio Gonçalves Museum, the Ajuda National Palace, the Ricardo Espírito Santo Foundation, the Oriente Museum, the National Museum of Art Ancient in Lisbon and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. She participated in exhibitions in China, Japan, Brazil, Spain and France and held several ceramic workshops in Japan and Morocco. She attended artist residencies in Kohler, Wisconsin, USA, and Fábrica Bordalo Pinheiro in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. In 2022 her artworks were shown at Villa Tamaris, la Seyne-sur-Mer within the scope of the saison croisée France – Portugal. More recently, she has exhibited in South Korea and at the Palácio Cadaval in Portugal in 2023, and in the spring of 2024 in a solo exhibition ‘Caminho Tropical’ at MAC – Museum of Contemporary Art in Niteroi (Rio) in Brazil.
Bela Silva has made several works of public art, in which she integrates her work into the architectural element. Examples are the tile panels for the Alvalade metro station, in Lisbon; the panels for the gardens of the Sakai Cultural Center in Japan and panels for the João de Deus school in the Azores. She has also produced numerous works specially designed for private collectors in Europe and the United States. She has collaborated over the years in a variety of projects and partnerships with important international brands such as Hermès, Tiffany & Co, Serax, Viuva Lamego, Bordalo Pinheiro, Vista Alegre and Monoprix. In November 2021 she presented in Paris a hand-painted porcelain collection with the Florentine brand Ginori 1735.
Bela Silva’s travels are an inexhaustible source of inspiration that allow her to include local history, culture and nature in her creative approach. The artist values the connection between communities and identities, incorporating traditional elements into her works that she reinterprets in a contemporary way. In 2025, Bela Silva will publish her monograph with Flammarion.
Spazio Nobile Gallery has represented Bela Silva since 2017. A selection of her new artworks will be on display at PAD London, October 8-13 and in a Solo Garden Exhibition at Design Miami/Paris, October 15-20.
Bela Silva & Vera Vermeersch: Tree of Life
Bela Silva: a Layered Practice
Bela Silva: “Despierta Corazón Dormido”
