Ballerina Tryout Diptych by artist Mike Silverman. -MIKE SILVERMAN / COURTESY PHOTO
In advance of the FIFA World Cup 2026 coming to Miami in June, the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, along with the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, presents Kinetic Energy, a new exhibition featuring 14 Palm Beach County–based artists.
The exhibit captures the movement, emotion, power and spirit of sport through the eyes of visual artists and sports popular in Palm Beach County, such as polo, dressage, weight lifting, sailing, surfing, ballet and skateboarding.
“My vision for Kinetic Energy is to show artists exploring the beauty of motion and to show the energy, power, and grace of all types of sport,” says Jessica Ransom, director of artist services. “From skateboarding and swimming to, of course, soccer, guests will be immersed in how athleticism reflects perseverance, competition and human aspiration.”
One of those artists is upcycle artist and sculptor, Mike Silverman, 69.
Mike Silverman’s Together 3 triptych. -MIKE SILVERMAN / COURTESY PHOTO
Known for his intricate sculptures crafted from discarded technology, including hard drive platters and printed circuit boards, Silverman merges an inherent affinity for industrial art with the beauty he perceives in technology’s remnants.
The Delray Beach–based artist, whose second act is as unexpected as it is distinctive, came to Palm Beach County a decade ago from Seattle, Wash., and immediately was impressed with the caliber of artists he met and the vibrant art scene.
Before committing fully to his art, Silverman, a father of four, was a management consulting and ran a small business. He carved stone for a time, then found his calling using upcycled marble tiles, granite countertops and eventually reclaimed computer parts.
He developed his own fabrication techniques and began playing with the reflectivity of the pieces and their ability to reflect their surrounding environment – something he calls his “ah-ha moment,” incorporating the reflection as part of the art.
His work explores the connection between technology, humanity and the inner emotional landscapes that shape our relationships and evolution.
He says his work is rooted in personal catharsis. After a difficult divorce, Silverman suffered severe PTSD and didn’t sleep for a year. During a meditation session, he visualized the full intensity of his stress at a cellular level—a transformative moment, he says. His PTSD improved instantly, and the resulting emotional release now informs the “Reflection” series.
“If I want my viewers to connect emotionally with my work, I must be willing to do the same,” Silverman says.
With an undergraduate degree in religion and a master’s degree in business, Silverman’s path to art is anything but traditional.
His only formal art training was a single stone‑carving class at the Pratt Fine Arts Center. Entirely self‑taught in his current medium, he developed his own fabrication techniques —everything from scroll‑saw fretwork to the engineering required to reshape recycled computer components.
Cathartic moment with reflection by artist Mike Silverman. -MIKE SILVERMAN / COURTESY PHOTO
His influences reflect his sculptural roots. He admires Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi for his independence and purity of form and Henry Moore’s “fearless” approach to monumental materials.
His ideas often percolate for a year before becoming actionable designs, emerging through dreams, meditation or flashes of insight. His “Dissolution of Self,” evolved over a period of two years before an AI‑generated image crystallized his vision for the work. “Seeking” began on a diving trip to Cabo San Lucas, where an advertisement for a Giacometti‑like pole dancer became the genesis of a new sculpture.
His work has been shown across South Florida, including at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach, the Red Dot Miami and the International Symposium of Experimental Art, where he contributed his voice to the conversation about waste, technology and aesthetics.
While he wants his work to be beautiful, Silverman is more invested in conceptual art and communicating ideas: ideally, viewers see themselves reflected in the piece and sense the conceptual layers beneath the polished surface.
Going forward, Silverman hopes to expand the visibility of his work and reach audiences willing to spend time with conceptual art.
He plans to have a dedicated show for the “Reflection” pieces, lit so that illumination becomes part of the artwork itself.
“When people see my work, I hope they ‘get it,’” he says. “To get it is an acknowledgment that behind the shimmering façade lies intention, emotion and a deeply considered idea.”
“I’d like for people to spend time thinking about the concept behind the piece,” he says.
Anna Villa headshot. -ANNA VILLA PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY PHOTO
Another artist whose works capture the energy and visceral motion of athleticism is Anna Villa, 50, of Boca Raton.
“I’m so excited to be a part of this show,” says Villa, 50, a figurative artist whose work blends classical discipline with vivid, contemporary palettes.
Born in the USSR, Villa came to the U.S. in 1996 and, inspired by the bold and vivid palette of Paul Gaugin, relocated to Florida five years ago from Northern California.
In 2023, she enrolled in FAU to study art and refine her technique. She believes talent must be paired with education, knowledge and intelligence to create meaningful art, and she credits FAU’s program with helping her grow.
She finds inspiration in the figurative masters – Alice Neel, Max Beckmann, Lucian Freud, and John Singer Sargent. She calls figurative painting “a hard art,” one that demands both anatomical precision and expressive depth.
Her mother, an academy‑trained artist and member of the Artists Union of the USSR, was her earliest artistic influence. She believed Anna was destined to be an artist, a belief Anna resisted for years. After the pandemic forced her to reconsider the direction of her life, she embraced that path—now encouraged by her husband.
“I’m lucky to have had people in my life who support my creative endeavors,” she says.
Today, Villa paints every day, working freehand from photographs she takes herself.
Her current work includes a series of portraits of CrossFit athletes—“Coach Rob,” “Coach Tara,” and “Ben and Abbe”—all examples of energy in motion, depicted as regular Florida locals hanging out in T‑shirts and relaxing, but capturing the intensity in their eyes and their elite athleticism visible beneath the surface.
Anna Villa’s BIG GUYS, oil on canvaa, 2025, displayed at Palm Beach International Airport. -ANNA VILLA PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY PHOTO
RO, oil on canvas by artist Anna Villa. (Private collection). -ANNA VILLA PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY PHOTO
Her process is steady and disciplined: she wakes up, goes to the gym, handles her daily responsibilities, and every night after dinner, she paints. Driven by a desire to create and to leave a legacy, Villa hopes her work will be collected and cherished for generations.
Another ongoing project for Villa is a series of university landscapes, beginning with FAU and expanding to Harvard, Boston University, and MIT—her artistic goal for the year.
She is also developing a striking portrait of philanthropist Christine Lynn, inspired by a photograph she saw in local papers.
For her, her goal is simple—to become the kind of artist whose work resonates and reflects the lives and personalities of the people she portrays.
For Palm Beach Gardens resident Brian Wood, 50, skateboarding is more than a hobby – it’s a lifelong passion and one he expresses through his art.
In addition to his day job as a mental health counselor, Wood is an artist and keen skateboarder. Born in Barbados and raised in a strong surf-and-skate community, he learned to skate at age 11.
After moving to Palm Beach County in 1994, Wood studied art and psychology at Palm Beach Atlantic University and earned his master’s degree in mental health counseling in 1999.
bwood’s Need for Speed. -BRIAN WOOD / COURTESY PHOTO
His company, Healing Art Therapeutic Services, provides mental health training for corporations in anger and stress management, goal setting and conflict resolution.
His bold and energetic pieces are rooted in movement and emotion. His three works in the current show —”Fight to Win, Be Unique and Need for Speed,” depict three skaters, one doing a handstand on his skateboard and reflect his belief in individuality, perseverance and the thrill of motion.
Known in the skate community as “bwood,” his artistic influences include Mark Rothko, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo and skateboard friends and artists who shaped his aesthetic. He credits mentors such as former Armory instructors, Sam Perry, Liza Niles, Michael Las Casas and FAU professor Amy S. Broderick, all of whom have helped him refine his voice.
For Wood, skateboarding is more than a sport; it’s community, creativity, a joie de vivre and a daily reminder that falling and getting back up is part of life.
Highlights of his career include a 2021 2,700-square-foot public mural, “Energy,” commission by the City of West Palm Beach, being accepted into the 2021 Biennial show at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, a mural he created for the corporate offices of Boys Town in West Palm Beach and his work titled “Freedom” in the City Hall boardroom encouraging viewers to “pursue your best self” and “push through adversity.”
Artist Brian Wood’s Be Unique. -BRIAN WOOD / COURTESY PHOTO
Superstar by artist Brian Wood. -BRIAN WOOD / COURTESY PHOTO
His recently commissioned design for traffic boxes on Congress Ave. in Boynton Beach depict a woman in motion on roller skates.
His art often reflects themes of hope, faith and personal transformation. For Juneteenth at the Norton Museum last year, he created an interactive Keith Haring–inspired canvas asking, “What does joy mean to you?”
He hopes to see his work in a museum one day and has dreams of designing a public skate park — similar to one recently created in Jacksonville — a space where art and movement collide in a way that celebrates his art and the sport he loves.
What drives Wood is simple and spiritual: the desire to energize people, to help them “win the day,” and to create art that shifts someone’s demeanor.
“My work is rooted in my love for people, my connection to God and my belief that everyone deserves the chance to thrive and give life their best shot,” he says.
bwood’s Noseslide. -KAT JANIS / COURTESY PHOTO
In The KNOW:
What: Kinetic Energy
When: April 16 – June 12
Where: Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, 601 Lake Avenue, Lake Worth Beach
Info: www.palmbeachculture.com