Artist Statement

Sam Martin (she/her) creates playfully pertinent, off-beat paintings that deal with memory, humor, and pain. Reality is often distorted in Sam's work, as she incorporates intense shadows, inexplicable light sources, and wonky perspectives to invite the viewer into a new dimension, offering a different perspective of the mundane. Humor acts as a means of harmonizing the dark and the light in certain paintings, balancing an ominous mood with a comical lightheartedness. While primarily working with acrylic paint, Sam's practice is continuously experimental, as she has recently integrated elements such as cardboard, beer cans, paper bags, and glitter. Sam’s work tends to portray actual objects and settings, while simultaneously utilizing abstract components to explore the endless properties of paint and color. For her, painting acts as portal into a new reality, without restrictions or judgements that are omnipresent in contemporary American society.