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Sea Change: New Paintings by Samantha French
Opening Reception:
Saturday, June 2, 2012 6-10pm
Show Runs:
June 2 - July 7, 2012
Samantha French’s current body of work explores the idea of escape, the tranquility and nostalgia for the lazy summer days of her childhood. The series is inspired by Samantha’s own reflections and memories of her childhood summers spent in the lakes of Northern Minnesota. After spending nine months of the year dealing with the endless winter, when the lakes finally thawed “it felt like you had been waiting a lifetime to dive in.”
But hidden beneath the idealistic undertow, Sea Change, reveals figures distorted not only by the haze of the passing waters but also the transitory nature of memory. The frenetic mark making and glowing colors of her large-scale oil paintings create a luminously rich surface, making the viewer feel as though one touch and they too will be immersed.
French is a Minnesota native now living and working in New York. She graduated from MCAD with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2005. In 2006 she received an individual artist grant from the Five Wings Arts Council. Last year she won 1st place in the Saatchi Online Showdown and her work will be exhibited at Saatchi Gallery in London. Samantha has shown in several solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and her work is included in numerous private collections.
