Raised in the Catskill Mountains of New York, Michelle Silver is a painter, curator and graphic designer living and working in the Hudson Valley, NY. Silver graduated magna cum laude from Boston University in 2009 and soon after moved to Brooklyn, where she immersed herself in the Bushwick art community, was awarded her first solo exhibition in a juried competition, started the band The Riot Oak as their singer, and developed her voice in graphic design. In 2023, a few years after moving to the Hudson Valley, Silver was a founding member of artist-run gallery Super Secret Projects and she co-founded with her tattoo artist husband Distortion Society, a combined art gallery and tattoo studio in Beacon, NY, where she is currently the Gallery Director.

Silver has participated in group exhibitions throughout the United States and UK including at Rochester University, NY; Art Number 23 Gallery, London, UK; IDIO Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Artport Kingston, NY; Vivid Space (Juried by Rachel Rickert), San Diego, CA; Gallery Protocol, Gainesville, FL; and The Raw Canvas, Grand Junction, CO. She has had solo exhibitions at Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2015) and Super Secret Projects, Beacon, NY (2023) and an upcoming solo at Distortion Society, Beacon, NY (June 2025). Silver has been commissioned by Chase Contemporary, NYC, and her work is part of the Fidelity Investments Corporate Art Collection. She has curated group and solo exhibitions at Distortion Society, including work by Evan Paul English, Nico Mazza, Frances Segismundo and Taj Campman. Her painting and curation has been included in numerous publications including The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Times Union, Two Coats of Paint, Art Business News, The Highlands Current, and Chronogram.