2025 MFA THESIS EXHIBITION
sam foster

JANUARY 16 - FEBRUARY 14, 2025

My paintings are like tack boards which hold an emotional history. This history is sometimes born from trauma and pain as I’ve spent years in recovery from drugs and alcohol and my painting practice started as a way to process the loss of my father at a young age. Loss remains a strong subject for me in my work. Sometimes I want to make decorative / lighter paintings but find I'm most inspired when dealing with these complex emotions and utilize my studio as a place to say or do whatever my impulses desire as much of life is pretending that everything is ok. Sometimes I juxtapose bright colors or candy shapes to complicate the visual queue of debris or destroyed material built from plaster shapes and institutional colors like bathroom stall gray. Along with plaster I use manipulated photos that are obscured and meant to further complicate the air of the paintings. These photos are ones I either collect, steal or take myself and I feel I share a connection with but that are not necessarily complimentary like selfies from Facebook weight loss groups. My challenge with these images is to find a way to incorporate them into the surfaces of the paintings as they hold power but can dictate a subject quickly. I want my paintings to read as atmospheres that are sometimes coded and invite the viewer to relate and feel. These atmospheres can be emotionally complex and beautiful, like having a nice breakfast next to the graveyard. 

Sam grew up in Lawrence, Kansas; after losing his father to suicide in Junior High, Sam became involved in various after school programs for affected youth where he learned how to paint and became involved in Slam Poetry, eventually leading to fronting a rap group in high school. To this day, poetry, language and grief remain strong subjects in Sam’s painting, which are also informed by his work in the mental health field. Sam Later went on to receive his BFA in Studio Arts at the Milwaukee Insititute of Art and Design (MIAD) in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Sam now resides with his fellow artist partner Jennifer Moore, just south of Austin, in Lockhart, TX where he has been a long-time member of the artist headed studios and gallery Spellerberg Projects. Sam is currently an MFA candidate at the Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa and supports his partner as she helps to curate shows at Spellerberg Projects and widen the local Artists Community.