Vigo: Silvino Silva (1980-1993)

Silvino Novas Silva was born on March 2, 1936 died at 65 years old in 2001. Two professions marked his life: his grandfather stonemason and his father's band director.

It started in the world of sculpture at 12-13 years doing a knife 3 small stone figures in the workshop of his grandfather. Given the skill displayed his grandfather encouraged him to learn the art of stone although since childhood Silvino always wanted to be a musician.

He started doing stonework for individuals in Puebla de Trives and the 21 years he graduated in size and Modeling in the School of Arts and Crafts in Vigo in 1957. He learned under the tutelage of renowned sculptor Camilo Nogueira, Galician master sculptors as Silverio Rivas or Xoán Piñeiro. Silvino collaborate very closely with Nogueira, who established a great friendship.

Subsequently makes art courses in Madrid and opened a sculpture studio where stonework done for individuals: cruceiros, shields, tables.

In 1964 he started working in the city of Vigo as the official sculptor of the city, although it was not until a few years later when he recognized this title. He began his work in a shop that was in the nursery grounds of the park Castro.Shortly after he moved to his residence in Moledo where he had his own workshop from working as sculptor running a lot of work for the whole municipality.

During the 37 years he worked for the city made all kinds of sculptures and public monuments. He practiced all kinds of reasons: monuments, stone crosses, shields, fountains, benches, busts, pedestals,. always with patience and gentleness in all his works by maintaining a proper seal common in all of them. He also was responsible for the repair and maintenance of the sculptures of the city damaged by years or vandalism.

Silvino was a perfectionist, passionate about his work and his family. Every morning he got up very early to indulge his sculptural work in his studio away from the world of art exhibitions and symposia.

Silvino has most of his artwork in the town of Vigo, but his sculptures are in private homes and public spaces by other Spanish cities such as Madrid, Seville, Valencia and Alicante or other countries like France.

Besides sculptor and music lover, Silvino painted and wrote poetry. In many of his sculptures gives us verses carved into the rock, words that will remain for years as a legacy of an artist little known but with sculptures that are already part of the city's image and memory of Vigo.

His son Silvino sculptor would continue the tradition of his father. We can see his works such as "The cow and the milk" in Zamanes. The city would be without sculptor and no successor both died in 2001.

Ethnographic sculpture and stonework

Silvino practiced sculpture cruzeiros ethnographic and folkloric and heraldic shields and stonework in banks and sources due to its status as the official sculptor Speech. Mastered to perfection ethnographic sculpture, sculpt reaching over a hundred cruzeiros that ran as working for the council and individuals.

Many of the stone crosses and fonts that are in the city are the work of this great sculptor. We can quote cruceiro including Stone, the Castillo de San Sabastian, that of Castro, the Castrelos, the Avenue of Castelao, the Mount of the Guide.

Urban Art Sculpture

But the most interesting sculptures are those in which Silvino faced granite rock to create a new form that was not commissioned by quarrying. They were works where Silvino was free to express themselves outside of preset charges.

Plasma Silvino your thoughts on simplifying the forms with rock candy and sinuous curves. Perceived in his love for music because it can create real Silvino musical symphonies granite. Evolution is seen in his work is more sharply from the 90's.

In this period we highlight sculptures as "O love Agarimo eo" (1995) on the Castrelos Park. This sculpture shows a couple sitting with a book and a sphere that represents the fruit of their love. This piece is performed on a granite block of 6 tons.

Or the sculpture "brooding nas cousas Muller gives life" (1996) at the entrance of the upper fort of Mount Castro.

Or one of the most interesting works that cause the viewer: "O world do thrive" in the fortified walls of the Castro Park.