Samantha Wilson
Degree: MRes
University: Royal College of Art
Graduation Year: 2023
New Blood Art Commentary
Notable Achievements 2023
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Samantha Wilson explores contemporary art as a tool to heighten empathy for displaced peoples in Europe
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The communication between viewer and artwork, or self and other, are vast in the case of Samantha Wilson’s work. Our attention is immediately caught in the forms that loom over us, engaging presences. Large scale figures and bodily forms rendered in charcoal and ink stare out in uncompromising and stark confrontation. Wilson chooses pastel shades and ominous pinks against the shadowy, smoky contrast of charcoal to draw beautiful yet provocative reflections of individual characters.
The often withdrawn expressions and vacant faces lend a mysterious and somewhat isolated mask to each figure, begging questions of identity and the societal complexity of otherness. Each figure is cloaked in darkened shapes contrasted against softened edges, which lure unsettling feelings. This, in turn, exposes the diverse interpretations and subjectivity obtainable through each piece.
Samantha was awarded a scholarship to fund her MA at the Royal College of Art: Link to RCA Student Research Platform featuring Samantha Wilson
Artist Statement
Samantha Wilson (b. 1990) creates figurative drawings and paintings inspired by a self-curated photography archive encompassing over 60 categories. Driven by a keen sense of ethical inquiry, Wilson's work invites viewers to reflect on their relationship with imagery, identity, and empathy in the contemporary world through a unique reimagining of photographic images. She employs visual tensions, leveraging ambiguity and the unresolved through the use of liquid watercolour, powder pigments, charcoal, and oil paint. Bodies, faces, and identities are both revealed and concealed, deliberately straddling abstraction and narrativity. Her paintings raise ethical questions of representation, prompting viewers to consider the responsibilities of both the artist and the observer in responding to contemporary crises. Through this, Wilson emphasises the need for compassionate connections that transcend race, age, gender, and political status.
Rest in Limbo, Samantha Wilson’s first solo exhibition in the UK (opening July 24th July, 2024) emerges as a call to embrace the resting place of discomfort: to support others in their grief while simultaneously confronting our own. It seeks to uncover the transformative potential of human connection in an increasingly fractured world.
Solo Exhibitions
(2024) Rest in Limbo, Fitzrovia Gallery, London
(2019) A Collective Public ‘Part 1’, Fabrica Braço de Prata, Lisbon, Portugal
(2016) Awakening Hearts, Zorba the Buddha, New Delhi
(2011) Pittenweem Art Festival, Robert Adamson Hair Design, Pittenweem, Fife
Group Exhibitions
(2023) RBA 200th Anniversary Group Exhibition., Mall Galleries, London.
(2023) Inner Workings, Cooke Latham Gallery, London
(2023) Earthwise, Beaconsfield Contemporary, London
(2023) London Art Biennale, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London
(2022) New QEST Scholars, Guildhall, London
(2022) Open Studio Exhibition, LX Factory, Studio 1.14B, Lisbon, Portugal
(2021) Open Studio Exhibition, LX Factory, Studio 1.14B, Lisbon, Portugal
(2020) Sustainable Connection, Unobvious Lab, Lisbon, Portugal
(2019) MFA Alumni Show, Flora Kirsch Beck Gallery, Michigan, USA
(2019) Castelo d’if Ateliers Aberturas, Espaço 62, Lisbon, Portugal
(2018) Castelo d’if Ateliers Aberturas, Espaço 62, Lisbon, Portugal
(2017) 12 x 12, Galeria da Graça, Lisbon, Portugal
(2017) Castelo d’if Ateliers Aberturas, Espaço 62, Lisbon, Portugal
(2017) Imagining the Future, Tafaria Castle, Nyeri, Kenya
(2016) Artist in Residence Group Show, Tafaria Castle, Nyeri, Kenya
(2016) Supporting Mind Scotland, The Image Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) Gallery 48 Opening Exhibition, Gallery 48, Dundee
(2016) Jiwar Open Studios, Jiwar Int. Residence for Artists in Urban Creativity, Barcelona, Spain
(2016) RSA Open, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) The W. Gordon Smith Painting Competition Exhibition, The Dovecot Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2015) Artsyland 9 New Graduates Exhibition II, WALL PROJECTS, Montrose, Scotland
(2015) New Scottish Artists, The Flemming Collection Gallery, London
(2015) RSA New Contemporaries, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2015) Winter Postcard Show, WALL PROJECTS, Montrose, Scotland
(2015) Open up I’m Burning Through, Solstice Gallery De Goede, Toronto
(2014) RSW Royal Society Watercolours, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland
Competitions, Prizes & Awards
(2022) Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) scholarship to fund an MRes at Royal College of Art (2022-23)
(2021) QEST and Cockpit Arts London Professional Development Programme
(2021) The Eaton fund
(2017) Klein Artist Works scholarship
(2016) Nominee Scottish Variety Award for Best new Scottish Artist
(2015) The Fife Decorative and Fine Arts Society Award
(2015) The W.Gordon.Smith Painting Competition runner up prize
(2015) The Duncan of Jordanstone Postgraduate award for best academic performance
(2015) RSA John Kinross Scholarship to Florence
(2015) Friends of the RSA award
(2015) The Alexander Monroe Travel Award, best work for an artist under 30
(2015) The William Sangster Phillip's academic scholarship and bursary
(2014) The James Guthrie Memorial Art Prize
(2014) The Hermione Hammond runner up drawing prize
(2014) The Benni Esposito Drawing Award