Born in Argentina in 1957, Silvia Levenson was of Russian-Jewish decent. Politically active already as a teenager, Levenson escaped her family's prosecution during the oppressive regime of military dictator Jorge Rafael Videla and immigrated to Italy in 1981, during the “disappearances” of the Dirty War. She had earned a graphic design degree at Martin Garcia College in Buenos Aires and continued her work as a graphic designer in Italy, until a chance introduction to the medium glass by a fellow artist. Influenced by the work of Swedish artist Bertil Vallien, she focused on cast rather than blown glass. Her socially engaged sculptural work quickly achieved international recognition. In 2004, Levenson received the Rakow Commission Award from the Corning Museum of Glass in New York and in 2008 she was a shortlisted nominee for the Bombay Sapphire Prize. Her work has been exhibited around the world and is a part of the collections of Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung, Munich, Germany; the Comune di Castelvetro di Modena, Italy; the Corning Museum of Glass, New York; the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Denmark; the Musée-Atelier du Verre de Sars-Poteries, France; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe; Tikanoja Art Museum, Vaasa, Finland.