Biography
Art is the progenitor of civilizations. Artists elevate to provide a 'seat at the table' for all.
 

Eliseo Art Silva

Visionary Muralist | Cultural Strategist | Public Artist
 

Eliseo Art Silva is the artist behind the landmark mural Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana in Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles. Described by the Smithsonian Institution as “bold and daring,” this monumental work is the first to honor Larry Itliong and the pivotal role of Filipino American farm workers in igniting the 1965 Delano Grape Strike. Recognized by the LA Times as “the most significant Filipino mural in the country,” it has also been named one of the “10 Monumental Murals of Los Angeles” and one of the “20 Iconic Murals of LA” by LA Weekly. Scholar Huping Ling calls it “the most famous Filipino American artwork” (Asian American Heritage and History: An Encyclopedia, 2010).
 

Silva completed the mural at age 22. Its presence helped inspire the designation of Historic Filipinotown in 2002 and laid the cultural foundation for the first Larry Itliong Day celebration in Carson, CA (2010), later adopted statewide in California in 2015. According to a Los Angeles Public Works Commissioner, Gintong Kasaysayan is “the largest mural dedicated to Filipino heritage in the United States, its presence partly inspired city officials to designate the community surrounding the mural as Historic Filipinotown in 2002” (Asian Journal, 2016). Though formally dedicated on June 24, 1995, the mural was fully unveiled on October 21, 1995—marking the earliest Larry Itliong Day observance in the country.
 

Early Life and Education

Born in Manila in 1972—the year Martial Law was declared—Silva completed his first mural at age 14, just days after participating in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. His first commissioned public artwork came a year later from the Colegio De San Juan De Letran Alumni Association, while he was still a sophomore at the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA), where he graduated with full honors.
 

Silva immigrated to the United States in 1989, the same year the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (900 AD) was discovered—redefining Philippine history and validating the existence of Indianized kingdoms long before Spanish conquest. This revelation deeply influenced Silva’s artistic mission: to elevate Filipino authorship and restore indigenous memory to public space.
 

He earned his BFA from Otis College of Art and Design, where he began the Gintong Kasaysayan mural during his junior year, and later received his MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He also attended Riverside City College, where he was honored with the ASRCC Roaring Tiger Award for Inspirational Leadership, and completed a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine as a Skowhegan and MICA Fellow.
 

Artistic Practice and Impact

Silva’s work is shaped by the Martial Law era, the 1986 Philippine Revolution, and the 1992 LA Riots. His murals confront the visual dehumanization and cultural erasure of Filipino identity, reconciling ancestral lineage with the history of painting.
 

His art has been exhibited at:

• Smithsonian National Museum of American History

• Conner Contemporary, Washington, D.C.

• Cue Art Foundation, New York

• Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts

• Plug-In Gallery, Canada

• Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia

• Piramide Cultural Center, Mexico

• Nehru Gallery, India

• Cultural Center of the Philippines

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art
   

Silva has won commissions for major public art projects across the U.S. and internationally, including:

• Millennium US Veterans War Memorial, Lompoc, CA

• Jewish American Mural, Pico-Robertson, Los Angeles

• Four Gateway Freeway Underpass Murals, Riverside and Colton, CA

• Choose Respect Mural, Sitka, Alaska

• Normandie Village Mural, Little Armenia, Los Angeles

• Carlos Bulosan Memorial, Seattle, WA
   

His pioneering works include:

• The first Filipino American history mural on the East Coast

• The first Larry Itliong memorial in Delano, CA

• The first Carlos Bulosan memorial in Seattle, WA

• The first Filipino mural in the City of Carson, CA

• The first Filipino-themed buon fresco painting in the U.S.

• The first Filipino Welcome Gateway Arch
   

Silva’s contributions have earned fellowships and awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, Getty Arts Institute, Independence Foundation, Ahmanson Foundation, National Arts Association, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He was a finalist for the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. The Philippine Centennial Commission commissioned him to create interactive public art for the International Arts Festival in Boracay Island, and his work was included in the Philippine Centennial Time Capsule.
 

Civic Design and Cultural Legacy

Beyond murals, Silva’s public art designs have become cultural landmarks in Los Angeles:

• Western Gateway Marker, Historic Filipinotown

• Filipino features of Unidad Park, including:

  • Entrance walkway shaped like a yo-yo

  • Central gathering space inspired by the Cordillera Dap-ay

  • Community garden honoring the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

  • Play area designed with Visayan floral pintado motifs
     

He also co-designed two Philippine floats for the 1997 and 1998 Pasadena Rose Parade, both of which won the coveted International Trophy.
 

Recent heritage commissions include:

• Philippine Nationality Room, University of Pittsburgh, PA

• Philippine Masters Collection, Mabuhay Credit Union, Carson, CA

• Shrine of Filipino Saints and the Santo Niño de Cebu, St. Columban Filipino Catholic Church, Los Angeles, CA

 

Teaching and Recognition

Silva has taught at:

• California State University Dominguez Hills

• California State University Sacramento

• California Polytechnic State University Pomona

• Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA)

• Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia

• Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia

• Institute for the Arts in Education, Philadelphia

• School District of Philadelphia
   

He has been profiled by the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Art in America, Juxtapoz, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, Manila Bulletin, Sacramento Bee, and Philippine Daily Inquirer.
 

Silva graduated from PHSA with the MARIA Scholarship, Model Student of the Year Award, and Gold Medal for Outstanding Visual Artist. He is the founder of the Larry Itliong Day Committee (LIDC) in Los Angeles and the founding president of FANHS-PA (Filipino American National Historical Society – Pennsylvania Chapter).
 

In 2014, he received the Alumni Achievement Award from Colegio De San Juan De Letran, and in 2020, was honored among the 400 most outstanding alumni with the Grandes Figuras Award during the school’s 400th anniversary.
 

In 2018, both Unidad Park and the Gintong Kasaysayan mural were named “Cultural Treasures” by Promise Zone Arts, administered by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
 

Reference: Ling, Huping & Austin, Alan (2010). Asian American Heritage and History: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 297.