A Lifelong Journey Through Art and Life
Matthew da Silva’s path to becoming an artist is one shaped by a lifetime of experiences, education, and family. His journey began during his school years in the 1970s when his passion for art first blossomed. Interestingly, a pivotal moment came when Matthew wanted to drop French to pursue art but was denied by his father—a decision he now reflects on with a mix of humor and contemplation. As he puts it, “Honestly, I am aware that such a circumstance is almost comical. Fictional even. Nevertheless, it is true.”
Matthew’s father, Peter, was no ordinary man. Born in 1930 to an Anglo settler family, Peter’s journey was marked by hardship and perseverance. After leaving school at 13 following a dispute with a teacher, he began working as a carpenter’s apprentice. Despite the challenges, Peter made his way to university, thanks to a government initiative led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Peter eventually became a successful businessman, managing director of Honeywell Australia during the 1960s to the 1980s, a period when the company flourished under his leadership.
In Matthew’s household, defying his father’s decisions was not an option. “For my father, education equalled job equalled respectability,” Matthew explains. It’s no surprise that the idea of a career in art seemed unthinkable to his father, who had always valued traditional measures of success. Yet, despite this early roadblock, Matthew’s artistic journey was far from over. His education continued, leading him to study French, Italian, and Fine Arts at university. By the age of 22, he was reading Dante in the original Italian, a testament to his deep love for the arts and languages.
Matthew da Silva: A Creative Legacy Rooted in Family
Matthew’s creative inclinations were not an anomaly; his family history is rich with artistic and intriguing figures. His great-aunt Madge, a pioneering photographer, traveled to Japan after World War II and captured life through her lens. His mother, a commercial artist, played a pivotal role in shaping his artistic sensibilities. Matthew’s daughter, now a commercial artist in Yokohama, Japan, continues the family’s creative legacy.
Matthew’s paternal grandfather, Joao Luis, was a migrant from Africa, Portuguese. He married a young woman in Melbourne who had a daughter by a different man, and Joao Luis adopted this girl as his own. This story of migration, adoption, and resilience is just one of the many intriguing facets of Matthew’s family history.
But Matthew’s family history is also filled with intrigue and mystery. His grandfather’s cousin, Molly Dean, was a well-known figure in Australia whose unsolved murder in the 1920s became the subject of multiple books. Another cousin contributed to the creation of the beloved Australian children’s show Bananas in Pyjamas. This mix of creativity and tragedy adds an undeniable layer of depth to Matthew’s personal narrative.
Matthew’s relationships with creative peers further shaped his artistic journey. Friendships with the sons of notable Australian artists like Barnaby Blackman and Tim Olsen influenced his early explorations in art, encouraging him to draw and create in solitude—though, as he notes, “Being alone as an artist is a kind of punishment.” In reflecting on the Australian cultural landscape, Matthew observes, “Here, there are three main hobbies: sport, food, and real estate. The last two were introduced by migrants after WWII.”
Art in Motion: Exploring Themes and Techniques
Matthew da Silva’s art defies easy categorization, evolving organically as he explores new themes and techniques. His work often includes paramontages—fusions of poetry and photography that merge his narrative background with his visual sensibilities. This innovative form reflects his earlier career in corporate communications, where storytelling was at the heart of his creative output.
A hallmark of Matthew’s current work is his use of the wet-on-wet technique on watercolor paper, a method that plays with the unpredictable interaction of paints. He finds fascination in the way different brands of paint react to a wet surface, creating texture and movement in his work. His love for narrative extends into these pieces, often created in an environment that would be considered unconventional—working with crime dramas playing in the background, a nod to the ambience his mother preferred while creating her own art.
Matthew’s work often includes paramontages—a fusion of poetry and photography that he began creating in 2022. These works are a direct reflection of his earlier career in corporate communications, where he crafted stories and publications. The paramontages merge his love for narrative with his visual sensibilities, creating a layered artistic form that echoes the multidisciplinary nature of his career. His later move into watercolor and collage was inspired by his participation in the Eastern Suburbs Art Group, underscoring how collaborative environments have spurred his ongoing artistic evolution.
Matthew da Silva: Crafting New Frontiers in Artistic Expression
In July 2022, Matthew cofounded the Eastern Suburbs Art Group with Simon Kahn, marking the start of a new chapter in his artistic journey. Together, they have pushed the boundaries of what it means to create and share art, leading to their latest venture: Sketch on Stage. This immersive art class concept, which launches in October 2024 at Artist’s Space in Redfern and globally on 21 November 2024 at Bondi Pavilion, blends performance and visual art in a collaborative setting. The project will also feature at the BodyMindSpirit Festival in Sydney in October 2024.
Sketch on Stage was born out of Matthew’s lifelong relationship with drawing in solitude, offering an alternative space for artists to collaborate and create in real time. “It almost seems as if, because I was spending so much time drawing alone as a boy, an immersive art class was offered as an option by Simon Kahn,” Matthew reflects. As executive producer of this innovative project, he has brought together a diverse team of collaborators, including a director, scriptwriter, sound producer, marketing specialists, and a troupe of dancers. Sketch on Stage offers an immersive experience that engages audiences on multiple levels, merging narrative, performance, and visual art in a groundbreaking way.
Matthew da Silva’s career continues to be one of exploration and evolution. Whether through his solo exhibitions, collaborations, or innovative projects like Sketch on Stage, his work challenges conventional notions of art, offering audiences a deeply personal and multifaceted perspective.
