Federico Silva

Federico Silva (Mexico City, 1923 – 2022) was a Mexican sculptor, painter and academic whose work spans mural painting, sculpture and kinetic art. Before turning to the arts he had studied veterinary medicine, law and anthropology, and his training was largely self-taught, built from books.

He worked as an assistant to David Alfaro Siqueiros, with whom he collaborated on the mural Nueva democracia at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Through that connection he became friendly with Diego Rivera, Leopoldo Méndez and José Revueltas. After the Second World War he lived mainly in Austria and Italy, and back in Mexico he received an honourable mention from the INBA at the First Salon of Painting. From 1950 he painted his own murals and began experimenting with sculpture and kinetic art.

Among his works are Fuente solar in Michoacán, Alux de la muerte in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas and Canto a un dios mineral at the Palacio de Minería. His legacy includes the Museo de Escultura Contemporánea Federico Silva, opened in San Luis Potosí in 2003 as a tribute to his career.