Works of art adapted to their context. Hotels, offices and home staging projects.

Palacio Principe Real

Palacio Príncipe Real is a boutique luxury hotel in a palace of 1877, in the very heart of Lisbon. Restored with sensitivity and style by Gail and Miles Curley, the project blends the historical magnificence of the building with modern day comfort. The hotel has earned international recognition, including Condé Nast Traveler and the Tatler guide.

Sylvia had the honour of collaborating with Gail Curley in the creation of several tailor made works for some of the hotel rooms, as well as the main piece in the entrance lobby. The goal was to produce pieces in perfect harmony with the unique personality of each room.

Each work was designed to fit in perfectly with the space for which it was intended: chromatic range, tones and decorative references. As well as acrylic paint, collage was also used, either for texture or chosen for a deeper meaning: pages of an old edition of Os Lusíadas or printed advertisements reflecting the splendour of the early 20th century, tying in aesthetics and meaning in a single unified context.

Work I Jacaranda Room - 100cm x 80cm
Botanical theme in acrylics, in colours to match the interior décor. The work incorporates a collage made with torn pages of an old Penguin edition of Os Lusíadas, a Portuguese epic poem of the 16th century by Luís de Camões.

Work II Premier Suite. Birds of Paradise - 120cm x 80cm
Composition centred around the Strelitzia flower, whose open flowers are reminiscent of an elegant bird.

Work III Main hotel lobby - 100cm x 80cm
A floating garden. Nasturtiums that appear to hover between the grass and the water, along with hanging flowers made of collage that add levity, movement and an almost dreamlike quality to the composition.

Lisbon · Portugal

Work IV Red Room - 80cm x 100cm
Vibrant composition where the callistemon (bottle brush) and fantasy flowers burst out from a background of autumnal leaves. A dance of colour, matter and movement.

Work V Saffron Suite - 130cm x 100cm
Mimosa branches on a yellow background. Since this room has views to the street below instead of the garden, it has more of an urban feel. This was captured using a collage of printed advertisements from a theatre programme from the belle époque of Lisbon of the early 20th century.

Work VI Arabic Room - 80cm x 50cm
Narrow work to be hung between two floor to ceiling windows. A single palm tree framed by a pointed arch decorated by a six-pointed star, a motif that decorates the towel rack (formerly the fireplace). A blast of gold, bright red and black.

Beyond Psychology

The work was created for a psychology counselling room, a silent and sympathetic witness to introspection and personal transformation.

The goal was to create a piece that would symbolise the emotional rebirth that often takes place during the therapeutic process. Soft and unobtrusive tones, enhancing the serenity and safety of the intimate space.

Work- Phoenix Rising from the Ashes - 80cm x 80cm

Acrylics and ash on canvas, where the pictorial language and the material blend to transmit a powerful symbolic image. Its presence as a discreet visual companion in the therapy room amplifies the sensitivity of the space.

Mallorca · Spain

Luxury Home Staging

Home staging in a contemporary luxury home in Camp de Mar to enhance its appeal for prospective buyers.

The idea was to add colour, warmth and character to an interior of minimalist lines, using a selecting of works able to enrich the space without disrupting the harmony of the architecture or existing décor.

A carefully curated selection of pieces adapted to each space.

Open-plan living area:

Work I. Under the palm trees - 150cm x 200cm
Palms that fan out to create a luminous and serene scene, evocative of cool summer siestas under the shade. Acrylic Paint and gold leaf against a background of collage made of hand-painted paper.

Work II. Artichoke flowers - 195cm x 130cm
One of Sylvia’s first large format works, born out of her surprising discovery of the cynara in her property in Mallorca. Collage background and acrylic paint work together to capture the blue luminescence of these amazing flowers in a monumental composition filled with light, texture and organic quality.

Work III. Pampas Grasses - 200cm x 100cm
Vertical composition dedicated to the gentle movement of pampas grass in the breeze, Acrylic paint was used to capture the swaying grass, in a composition that is serene, rhythmical and with a near-aerial quality.

Mallorca · Spain

Entry hall:

Work IV. Red Bull - 80cm x 80cm (Sold)
A square work in bright red tones from the Toros series was chosen for the entry hall, well matched with the leather chair and the bamboo framed mirror.

Master bathroom:

Work V. Bamboo - 120x80
The collage and acrylics work entitled Bamboo was selected for the master bathroom to add colour and a tropical feel to the space.