Word Paintings
Field
Warm
Friendly
Trust
Slow
Stubborn
Word Paintings
Though presenting a single word, these works are less about definition than ambiguity. “Stubborn,” for instance, began as a wry portrait of Silverstein’s partner, while “Warm” or “Friendly” confront the pressures of idealized selfhood. The words are chosen not as affirmations, but as entry points into ambiguity, self-inquiry, and resistance to perfection.
In choosing which words to paint, Silverstein echoes Ed Ruscha’s approach: they’re words that “burn.” Each carries a charge—psychological, relational, or cultural—and becomes a site of friction. Originally sparked by her stepdaughter’s refusal to write conventionally, the Word Paintings are ultimately invitations: to dwell in the in-between, and to hold multiple meanings, and values, at once.