Surrealism has only been around for a century, yet it’s had an outsized impact on the art world. In its relatively short lifespan, the movement has inspired countless creatives working today. Brazilian artist Rafael Silveira is one of them; he creates fantastical portraits of people that use objects, animals, and places as a way to delve into the human psyche.
Within Silveira’s works, you’ll find figures whose faces are replaced by a bouquet of tropical florals or surreal vistas, such as a swan, with a human brain as its body, swimming in the water. Beneath the bird, in a cross-sectioned composition, a human heart rests on the lakebed. All of Silveira’s imagery is created in colorful, candy-coated hues, making the strange scenes feel inviting as they envelop you into their world.
Silveira is always searching his surroundings for signs, which helps him create his surreal imagery. “It is a very intuitive process,” he tells My Modern Met. “These signs somehow connect with my thoughts, creating bridges that open doors. It is something very organic and difficult to explain in words. And when I say ‘surroundings,’ I do not just mean what happens in my home or city. I mean something broader, anything that passes before my eyes.”
Anything can be a source of inspiration for the artist, no matter how unlikely. “A flower in the garden, a pastry shop window, a product package, old books (physical or digital, since there are incredible library archives online). Everything that crosses my gaze can create this energy and send a signal that opens a kind of portal in my mind, from which these surreal images emerge.”
Like his search for signs, Silveira’s paintings come together in a very organic way. “[Ideas sprout] chaotically in the fertile soil of imagination,” he shares. “The next step is to try to organize them a bit and find the best way to bring them into the material world, to show them to others, since until then only I can see them.” His planning process for the final piece is a meticulous one, in which he creates layouts, compositions, and color studies to explore all possibilities that match the visual energy he has in mind.
“Once this ‘project’ feels right,” he continues, “I use it as a guide for the painting. I work mainly with oil paint, strongly influenced by the old masters, and also by what is called ‘paper ephemera,’ vintage printed matter, which for me is a very rich part of the soil of the collective unconscious.”
Silveira is starting his creative process to prepare for a solo exhibition at KP Projects in Los Angeles, which will happen in 2026. See what he’s working on next when you visit his Instagram.
Brazilian artist Rafael Silveira creates surreal portraits of people that use objects, animals, and places as a way to delve into the human psyche.
“Magnetic”
“The Artifice of Eternity”
“Recanto”
“Bloomspell”
All of Silveira’s imagery is created in colorful, candy-coated hues, making the strange scenes feel inviting as they envelop you into their world.
“Burning Desire”
“Flora Instimista”
Silveira is always searching his surroundings for signs, which help him create his surreal imagery.
“Extravaso”
“Vapores da Mente”
“It is a very intuitive process,” he tells My Modern Met. “These signs somehow connect with my thoughts, creating bridges that open doors.”
“Ebulicao”
“Free Mind”
“Polyphonic Nature of Existence”