Artist Statement
Emotion, dream and reality. Where real and unreal can coexist through a sensuous viewpoint. Simply stated, my paintings are emotional landscapes. An abstracted space that memory, actuality or subconscious has reconfigured to project the essence of place. Recording life around me as in a journal documenting ideas and experiences. Providing focused information in blurred fashion, implying rather than telling. It’s walking the line of specific ambiguity.
Brush strokes are directed from the spine rather than the wrist so that the movement encompasses a passionate force. Rhythms and tempos are varied through mark making and the canvas turned throughout the painting process so the energy is in motion. Colors are chosen for it’s psychological capacities that reinforce the voice of the painting. Expression through color either subtly or aggressively to serve the full range of emotion in the face of life and love.
My paintings are process oriented, meaning a series of action directed towards a result. The desired outcome isn’t necessarily a finished painting but the understanding that lies behind going from one place to another. The paintings hold a push pull of ideas and questions layered by means of drawing, painting and glazing. The chronicle of the painting has work and rework between the known and the unknown. The exploration and decision-making are a significant element that keeps the painting authentic and very much in the moment. Rich surfaces are built through the sequence of addition and subtraction. And as the painting progresses, resolve is not about what you can add, but rather when there is nothing else to take away. Resolution emerges from the backside when least expected, although most appreciated.
Resumé
Sam Sartorius www.samsartorius.com
Awards/Exhibitions
Audley Society, Houston, Texas August 2010
Sam Houston State University, private collection March 2010
WHAM Spacetaker's Winter Holiday Art Market (November 2009)
Artcrawl, Mother Dog Studio, Houston, Texas (November 2009)
Audley Society Houston, Texas (November 2009)
Jung Center of Houston, solo show, Houston, Texas (October2009)
Spirited Women, Audley Society, Oddly Enough, Houston, TX (May 2009)
Spacetaker @ Mo Mong, Houston, TX (May 2009)
Rouge Art @ Kevin Davis, Houston, TX (April 2009)
Gallery Lazzara, group show, Houston, TX (April 2009)
Artopia sponsored by Houston Press, Houston, TX (January 09)
Art Crawl, Eerie Iron Works, Houston, Tx (November 2008)
WHAM Spacetaker's Winter Holiday Art market (December 2008)
Art Barks Time, group show benefiting SPCA Houston, TX (July 2008)
Studio 909, solo exhibition, Indianapolis, IN (January 2008)
Studio 909, solo exhibition, Quiet Shade of Loud, Indianapolis, IN (November 2006)
Gallery One 36, bi-monthly group shows Westfield, IN (April 06 – August 07)
Lamp Gallery, specializing in the sales of older works, (2006 –2007)
Indiana State Museum, group show, Whispers to Shouts, Indianapolis, IN (February-June 2005)
Domont Studio Gallery, solo show, Immense and Intense, Indianapolis, IN (January, 2005)
Gallerie 9, group show, Vienna, Austria (October 2004)
Domont Studio Gallery, group show, Indianapolis, IN (March, 2004)
Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, (2003/04)
Alta Gallery, group show, Kokomo, IN (August-September 2003)
Domont Studio Gallery, group show, Indianapolis, IN (July-August 2003)
Eyeblink Gallery, solo show, Up All Night, Indianapolis, IN (April-May 2003)
Full Fellowship to Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT (2002)
Rushman Gallery, group show, Indianapolis, IN (September 2002)
Clowes Travel Award, Indianapolis, IN (2002)
Eye Blink Gallery, group show, Indianapolis, IN (August 2002)
Hoosier Salon, traveling group show, Indiana State Museum, (July-December 2002)
Axis Art and Architecture, solo show, Indianapolis, IN (June 2002)
Studio 909, Transformata, two-person show, Indianapolis, IN November (2001)
Hoosier Salon traveling group show, Indiana State Museum, January-July (2001)
Hoosier Salon painting competition merit award, Indiana State Museum, (2001)
Midland Arts and Antiques, The Moody Princess, solo show, Indianapolis, IN (February 2001)
Vermont Studio Center, solo show, Johnson, VT (June 2000)
Bowery Studio, Tension Beneath The Surface, two-person show, New York, NY (August 2000)
Lucas Gallery, group show, Indianapolis, IN (October 2000)
Diekhoff Gallery, Millennium, group show, Indianapolis, IN (January 2000)
Studio 909, solo show, Indianapolis, IN (December 1999)
Faris, Studio 508, Indianapolis, IN (1996-98)
David K. Rubins award for figure sculpture, Indianapolis, IN 1996
First place, painting, Indianapolis Art Center, 1994
Professional Experience
2010 May - present Kevin Davis Wall Artisans, specializing in venetian plaster, Houston, Texas
2007 (3 months) Visual Arts painter, private estate of Mel Simon, Bellaire, California
1999- 2008 Studio 909, fine arts painter, Indianapolis, IN
2002 (6 months) Visual Arts painter, private estate of Mel Simon, Indianapolis, IN
1999-2001 Visiting Artist, Lawrence University, Bjorklunden in Door County, Wisconsin
1989-93 Freelance Textile Designer for L.C. Company L.T.D. Dallas, Texas
1990-91 Freelance Textile Designer for Paul Harris, Indianapolis, Indiana
1983-92 Textile Designer for Ginnie Johansen Designs, Dallas, Texas.
Educational Experience
2004 eight-month residency at Egon Schiele Art Centrum in Cesky Krumlov, Czech
Republic
1994-2002 Herron School of Art, Indiana University Purdue University, B.F.A. Painting,
Chancellor’s Scholar
2002 Vermont Studio Center, one-month artist residency, painting, drawing
2000 Vermont Studio Center, four-month artist residency; painting, drawing
1999 Vermont Studio Center, two-month artist residency; painting, drawing
1997 International Study Award, Hunan Normal University in Changsha, China.
1996 Vermont Studio Center, one-month artist residency; painting, conceptual, performance
1991-94 Indianapolis Art Center; drawing, painting
1982-88 North Lake College, Dance/Liberal Arts (Dallas, Texas)
