Psychedelic Paintings By Rafael Silveira Explore A World Of ‘Visual Synonymies’
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Brazilian artist Rafael Silveira’s paintings in the solo exhibition Popsicledelic Trip at KP Projects Gallery combine faces, plants, animals and popsicles in surreal scenes. Silveira describes the visual pairings as “visual synonymies,” using the shape of a popsicle to connect popular, ephemeral objects with forms associated with religious painting.

Brazilian artist Rafael Silveira presented paintings that pair popsicles and other everyday forms with imagery from nature and religious art in Popsicledelic Trip, a recent solo exhibition at KP Projects Gallery in Los Angeles. The works explore what Silveira calls “visual synonymies”: unexpected correspondences between images that prompt viewers to reconsider how familiar shapes and objects relate.

The paintings replace or transform facial features with landforms, flowers and animals, and place figures and objects together in combinations that can appear deliberately improbable. In “Exit” (2026), for example, Silveira uses the exhibition’s recurring popsicle motif. Several vertical works have ornate, hand-carved frames whose outlines resemble frozen treats, while figures hold oversized popsicles in compositions that recall Renaissance religious art.

The exhibition included works in oil on canvas and on handcrafted or hand-carved wood panels. The source identifies “We Are On the Same Page,” “Wonders of Human Nature,” “My God Is the Sun,” “Early Bird,” “Cosmic Bioma,” “The Epiphany” and “Multiverse Is My Backyard” among the works shown. The exhibition was presented alongside a show by Silveira’s wife, artist Flávia Itiberê; the report does not give the title or further details of her show.

Silveira’s stated idea is that even unlikely combinations can point to things that coexist in the world. A tree-headed figure or frozen treats arranged like planets may initially seem absurd, but the artist uses such images to examine how one form can carry different associations depending on its setting.

At a glance
reportWhen: The works were recently shown in the 20…
The developmentA recent solo exhibition at KP Projects Gallery in Los Angeles presented new 2026 paintings by Rafael Silveira built around surreal visual correspondences.

Popsicles Meet Sacred Art

The works make the exhibition’s central comparison visible: a popsicle’s familiar outline can echo the shape of a traditional painted panel. That connection lets Silveira bring together devotional imagery and popular culture without treating them as opposites. The contrast also gives viewers a concrete way into the broader idea behind the paintings: visual meaning can shift when an object is moved into a different setting.

This matters as a report on the exhibition because the recurring shape is not just a decorative motif. Silveira links it to questions about permanence and change, and about the associations viewers bring to images. The paintings invite interpretation, but the source presents those readings as the artist’s stated approach rather than as a single definitive meaning.

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A Shared Shape Across Art

Silveira describes “visual synonymies” as formal correspondences between seemingly unrelated things—moments when one image appears to recognize itself in another. The term helps explain why the paintings combine subjects that would not ordinarily be grouped together. Rather than presenting the pairings as literal narratives, the artist uses them to unsettle familiar categories and associations.

One formal reference is the tavola centinata, a panel or canvas with a squared base and rounded top. According to the source report, this shape appears in Gothic and early Renaissance painting and resembles the silhouette of a classic popsicle. That resemblance provides a structural basis for the exhibition’s overlap between the history of devotional painting and the everyday frozen treat.

““Bringing them together creates a bridge between devotional form and unstable matter, between permanence and disappearance.””

— Rafael Silveira, in the same statement

Exhibition Dates and Access

The source calls Popsicledelic Trip a recent exhibition but does not state its opening or closing dates, whether it is still on view, or whether the paintings are available for purchase. It also does not provide visitor numbers, reviews, or details about how the exhibition was received. The information about the works and their interpretation comes from the source report and Silveira’s statements; no independent critical assessment is included.

Where to See More Works

The source report directs readers to Silveira’s Instagram for more of his work, but does not announce a future exhibition or publication. Readers interested in viewing the paintings in person will need to check KP Projects Gallery for current information on the show and access, since the reported exhibition dates are not specified.

Key Questions

What was Popsicledelic Trip?

Popsicledelic Trip was a recent solo exhibition of Rafael Silveira’s paintings at KP Projects Gallery in Los Angeles. It was shown alongside an exhibition by artist Flávia Itiberê.

What does Silveira mean by “visual synonymies”?

Silveira uses the phrase for formal correspondences between seemingly unrelated images. His paintings bring shapes and subjects together to show how one image can evoke another.

Why do popsicles appear alongside religious imagery?

The artist connects the popsicle’s outline to the rounded-top shape of traditional painted panels, including the tavola centinata. He uses that resemblance to link an ephemeral popular object with forms associated with devotional art.

Is the exhibition still open?

The source describes the show as recent but gives no exhibition dates or current access information. Check with KP Projects Gallery for its present status.

Source: rss

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