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Ballerina Tryout Diptych by artist Mike Silverman. -MIKE SILVERMAN \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
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\u2013based artists.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMy 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,\u201d says Jessica Ransom, director of artist services. \u201cFrom skateboarding and swimming to, of course, soccer, guests will be immersed in how athleticism reflects perseverance, competition and human aspiration.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
One of those artists is upcycle artist and sculptor, Mike Silverman, 69.\n<\/p>\n
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Mike Silverman\u2019s Together 3 triptych. -MIKE SILVERMAN \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
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\u2019s remnants.\n<\/p>\n
The Delray Beach\u2013based 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.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
He developed his own fabrication techniques and began playing with the reflectivity of the pieces and their ability to reflect their surrounding environment \u2013 something he calls his \u201cah-ha moment,\u201d incorporating the reflection as part of the art.\n<\/p>\n
His work explores the connection between technology, humanity and the inner emotional landscapes that shape our relationships and evolution.\n<\/p>\n
He says his work is rooted in personal catharsis. After a difficult divorce, Silverman suffered severe PTSD and didn\u2019t sleep for a year. During a meditation session, he visualized the full intensity of his stress at a cellular level\u2014a transformative moment, he says. His PTSD improved instantly, and the resulting emotional release now informs the \u201cReflection\u201d series.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I want my viewers to connect emotionally with my work, I must be willing to do the same,\u201d Silverman says.\n<\/p>\n
With an undergraduate degree in religion and a master\u2019s degree in business, Silverman\u2019s path to art is anything but traditional.\n<\/p>\n
His only formal art training was a single stone\u2011carving class at the Pratt Fine Arts Center. Entirely self\u2011taught in his current medium, he developed his own fabrication techniques \u2014everything from scroll\u2011saw fretwork to the engineering required to reshape recycled computer components.\n<\/p>\n
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Cathartic moment with reflection by artist Mike Silverman. -MIKE SILVERMAN \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
His influences reflect his sculptural roots. He admires Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi for his independence and purity of form and Henry Moore\u2019s \u201cfearless\u201d approach to monumental materials.\n<\/p>\n
His ideas often percolate for a year before becoming actionable designs, emerging through dreams, meditation or flashes of insight. His \u201cDissolution of Self,\u201d evolved over a period of two years before an AI\u2011generated image crystallized his vision for the work. \u201cSeeking\u201d began on a diving trip to Cabo San Lucas, where an advertisement for a Giacometti\u2011like pole dancer became the genesis of a new sculpture.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
Going forward, Silverman hopes to expand the visibility of his work and reach audiences willing to spend time with conceptual art.\n<\/p>\n
He plans to have a dedicated show for the \u201cReflection\u201d pieces, lit so that illumination becomes part of the artwork itself.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people see my work, I hope they \u2018get it,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cTo get it is an acknowledgment that behind the shimmering fa\u00e7ade lies intention, emotion and a deeply considered idea.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like for people to spend time thinking about the concept behind the piece,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n
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Anna Villa headshot. -ANNA VILLA PHOTOGRAPHY \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
Another artist whose works capture the energy and visceral motion of athleticism is Anna Villa, 50, of Boca Raton.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so excited to be a part of this show,\u201d says Villa, 50, a figurative artist whose work blends classical discipline with vivid, contemporary palettes.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
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\u2019s program with helping her grow.\n<\/p>\n
She finds inspiration in the figurative masters \u2013 Alice Neel, Max Beckmann, Lucian Freud, and John Singer Sargent. She calls figurative painting \u201ca hard art,\u201d one that demands both anatomical precision and expressive depth.\n<\/p>\n
Her mother, an academy\u2011trained 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\u2014now encouraged by her husband.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m lucky to have had people in my life who support my creative endeavors,\u201d she says.\n<\/p>\n
Today, Villa paints every day, working freehand from photographs she takes herself.\n<\/p>\n
Her current work includes a series of portraits of CrossFit athletes\u2014\u201cCoach Rob,\u201d \u201cCoach Tara,\u201d and \u201cBen and Abbe\u201d\u2014all examples of energy in motion, depicted as regular Florida locals hanging out in T\u2011shirts and relaxing, but capturing the intensity in their eyes and their elite athleticism visible beneath the surface.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tAnna Villa\u2019s BIG GUYS, oil on canvaa, 2025, displayed at Palm Beach International Airport. -ANNA VILLA PHOTOGRAPHY \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tRO, 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.\n<\/p>\n Another ongoing project for Villa is a series of university landscapes, beginning with FAU and expanding to Harvard, Boston University, and MIT\u2014her artistic goal for the year.\n<\/p>\n She is also developing a striking portrait of philanthropist Christine Lynn, inspired by a photograph she saw in local papers.\n<\/p>\n For her, her goal is simple\u2014to become the kind of artist whose work resonates and reflects the lives and personalities of the people she portrays.\n<\/p>\n For Palm Beach Gardens resident Brian Wood, 50, skateboarding is more than a hobby \u2013 it\u2019s a lifelong passion and one he expresses through his art.\n<\/p>\n 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.\n<\/p>\n After moving to Palm Beach County in 1994, Wood studied art and psychology at Palm Beach Atlantic University and earned his master\u2019s degree in mental health counseling in 1999.\n<\/p>\n bwood\u2019s Need for Speed. -BRIAN WOOD \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n His company, Healing Art Therapeutic Services, provides mental health training for corporations in anger and stress management, goal setting and conflict resolution.\n<\/p>\n His bold and energetic pieces are rooted in movement and emotion. His three works in the current show \u2014\u201dFight to Win, Be Unique and Need for Speed,\u201d depict three skaters, one doing a handstand on his skateboard and reflect his belief in individuality, perseverance and the thrill of motion.\n<\/p>\n Known in the skate community as \u201cbwood,\u201d 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.\n<\/p>\n For Wood, skateboarding is more than a sport; it\u2019s community, creativity, a joie de vivre and a daily reminder that falling and getting back up is part of life.\n<\/p>\n Highlights of his career include a 2021 2,700-square-foot public mural, \u201cEnergy,\u201d 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 \u201cFreedom\u201d in the City Hall boardroom encouraging viewers to \u201cpursue your best self\u201d and \u201cpush through adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tArtist Brian Wood\u2019s Be Unique. -BRIAN WOOD \/ COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2-Anna-Villas-22BIG-GUYS22-oil-on-canvaa-2025-displayed-at-Palm-Beach-International-Airport.-Anna-Vi.jpeg\")
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