Known for his introspective and achromatic approach to visual art, Silent Mike returns with a vivid departure from his signature style in a new 15-piece collection titled Chromatic Shift. Opening to the public on Friday, 28 March, the exhibition is launched in partnership with the Dao by Dorsett hotel group — marking the beginning of a long-term collaboration between the artist and the hospitality brand.
Installed throughout the hotel’s main bar and restaurant, the collection signals a turning point in the artist’s evolving practice. Bold, colourful, and brimming with kinetic energy, Chromatic Shift embraces a chromatic language previously absent from his work. Each composition plays with light and form, layering paint, texture, and geometry to evoke a nuanced emotional response.
© Silent Mike
The exhibition follows Silent Mike’s 2023 debut at London’s Quantus Gallery with Introspective, a monochrome series that drew attention for its stark precision and architectural depth. A subsequent collaboration with Atelier Automotive Art reinforced his reputation for clean-lined, multimedia compositions rendered in tones of black, white, and grey. But with Chromatic Shift, the artist steps into new territory, exchanging restraint for resonance and introducing a broader palette.
His technique remains rigorous — each piece involves machine-cut wooden circles, hand-sanded surfaces, and textured layers built from paint, primer, and gloss-infused paste. The result is a series of compositions that are individually distinct yet thematically cohesive, underscoring a shift in both aesthetic and intent.
Raised on a council estate in Birmingham, Silent Mike’s artistic journey is deeply rooted in personal experience. After his father left when he was five, he became selectively mute — a silence that earned him his enduring nickname. During that time, he turned inward, closely observing the people and patterns around him. These formative years laid the foundation for his visual language, one grounded in structure and intuition.
© Silent Mike
At 16, he found expression through skateboarding — a discipline that cultivated both resilience and precision. That same energy informs his visual art today. His creative career began in tattooing, where he gained recognition for his technical control and award-winning designs. In his transition to fine art, he brought with him the tools and materials of the tattoo studio, working with acrylics, spray paint, and tattoo ink on wooden panels.
© Silent Mike
Chromatic Shift draws on classical inspiration, referencing the sculptural finesse of Michelangelo and Bernini. Their pursuit of anatomical perfection is reimagined through Silent Mike’s geometric overlays — intricate lattices of pattern and line that speak to the intersection of mathematics, nature, and emotion. The result is work that feels at once ancient and contemporary, cerebral and instinctive.
This new collection reflects not only an evolution in palette, but a broader transformation — one rooted in personal growth, shifting perception, and the quiet power of reinvention.
Silent Mike: Chromatic Shift’ opens on 28th March at the Dao by Dorsett hotel
©2025 Silent Mike
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