Toni Silber-Delerive is a Manhattan-based artist whose work offers viewers a fresh, aerial perspective on the world. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the University of the Arts and a Master’s degree in art education from Kean College, NJ, Toni’s creative journey has been shaped by both traditional painting skills and modern design sensibilities.
Her time studying graphic design and silkscreen printing at the School of Visual Arts in New York City left a lasting impact on her approach. Before fully devoting herself to painting, she built a successful career as a graphic designer, a background that continues to influence her style. Her canvases are bold, geometric, and meticulously structured, yet always grounded in the organic beauty of everyday life.
The Inspiration Behind “NYC Water Towers”
One of Toni’s notable works, NYC Water Towers, is an acrylic-on-canvas painting that captures an urban scene from a unique aerial perspective. The subject water towers perched atop commercial and residential buildings are an iconic and often-overlooked part of the New York City skyline.
From street level, these structures fade into the background of the city’s hustle, but from above, they reveal themselves as part of an architectural rhythm that is distinctly Manhattan. Toni transforms this utilitarian infrastructure into art, celebrating its role in the city’s visual identity.
Composition: Geometry Meets Urban Life
In NYC Water Towers, the viewer is immediately drawn to the painting’s bold geometry. The composition is an intricate network of right angles, sharp edges, and straight lines that mirror the rigid structure of city living. Buildings interconnect like pieces of a vast puzzle, their flat rooftops forming a tapestry of shapes and shadows.
Her ability to balance structure and spontaneity gives the painting a dynamic energy. The water towers punctuate the scene with a rhythm akin to musical beats each one both functional and decorative in the context of her work.
Aerial Views: A Signature Approach
Toni’s fascination with aerial perspectives sets her apart from many contemporary painters. She often depicts urban sprawls, rural fields, suburban grids, factories, and winding highways all from above. Whether looking down from a skyscraper or soaring in a helicopter, she transforms these views into flattened, abstract compositions that still retain a deep sense of place.
By removing the horizon line, she eliminates the traditional depth cues of landscape painting. Instead, she offers a direct, map-like view that encourages viewers to notice patterns, textures, and connections they might otherwise miss. This approach turns the familiar into something new, inviting the audience to reconsider their relationship with the spaces they inhabit.
Color, Texture, and Form
Color plays a central role in her work. In NYC Water Towers, muted urban tones contrast with moments of brighter hues, capturing the interplay between the city’s industrial nature and its vibrant human life. The flattened planes emphasize form over depth, while subtle shifts in color and texture keep the composition alive.
The tactile quality of her surfaces adds another layer of engagement. While the shapes themselves are clean and graphic, the painted textures remind us of the physical reality behind the abstraction, the weathered rooftops, the aged wood of the water towers, and the concrete surfaces that define city living.
Influence of Graphic Design on Fine Art
Her background in graphic design is evident in the clarity and intentionality of her work. The careful arrangement of shapes, the balance of positive and negative space, and the bold compositional choices all speak to her training in visual communication.
Yet, she bridges the gap between design and fine art by infusing her work with a painter’s sensitivity to texture, gesture, and atmosphere. Her paintings are not just visual records they are interpretations that prioritize the emotional and aesthetic resonance of the scene.
The Beauty of the Overlooked
A recurring theme in Toni’s work is the celebration of what we often overlook. In the case of NYC Water Towers, she elevates humble, functional objects into central characters. In doing so, she reminds us that beauty is not limited to landmarks or postcard-perfect views; it exists in the everyday details that quietly shape our environment.
Through her aerial approach, she encourages viewers to slow down and look closer to recognize that even the most ordinary elements can be extraordinary when seen from a different angle.
Beyond New York City
While much of her work is rooted in the urban energy of New York, her aerial perspective extends to a variety of subjects and locations. From the geometric patchwork of rural farmland to the rhythmic repetition of suburban neighborhoods, she applies the same keen eye for form and structure to all her compositions.
This versatility reflects her belief that every environment, whether built by human hands or shaped by nature, has a visual language worth exploring.
Conclusion: A Vision Above the Streets
NYC Water Towers is more than a depiction of buildings and rooftop structures it’s a celebration of New York’s identity, architecture, and hidden beauty. By combining the discipline of design with the expressiveness of painting, Toni transforms an ordinary slice of the city into a bold, abstract statement.
Her work challenges viewers to see the world from a different vantage point, to appreciate the geometry and rhythm that underlie our surroundings, and to find artistry in the everyday. From the streets to the skies, she offers a perspective that is both grounded in reality and elevated by imagination.
