Samuel T. Adams

Region: Northeast

My paintings are derived from a mash-up of representation, including arcane landscapes, ruins, and icons, along with the fleeting imagery of pop culture, like adverse elements that have been stewed in the crock pot; coagulating, congealing, emulsifying. When unearthed, the serving is more like an excavation of fragmented fossils rather than a breakthrough in technology. My aim is for the viewer to walk away with questions concerning what is vaguely familiar, as opposed to an embedded knowledge or statement.

Recently, my point of departure has been from my own documentation of explorations, specifically of Hellenistic friezes and dilapidated, baked pueblos. These starting points—places of fascination and mystery—kindle both imagery and intuition, the latter being the driving force to an increasingly vacillating image. As a painting unfolds, so does personal biography. There is certainly an element of spontaneity in my process, but it is through a series of carefully calculated decisions that the layers of mark-making intermesh.