Samantha Thomas’ artistic practice is unique and idiosyncratic. Restraining herself to a palette of raw canvas, thread and acrylic paint, Thomas’ work explores the play between common studio materials and abstraction. Jagged extrusions, folded thresholds and frenetically woven strands of thread transform her canvases into paintings that are, at once, physical, architectural and sculptural. While each piece defies the flatness of the canvas, her work still speaks to the language and legacy of painting and drawing.
EXHIBITIONS
Staycation, April 7 – May 30, 2020.
Complex Systems of Communication, March 19 – April 23, 2016
Samantha Thomas
- 1980
- Born in McAllen, Texas.
- Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Education
- 2004
- BFA Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
- 2016
- Complex Systems of Communication, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- ARCOmadrid, with Anat Ebgi, Madrid, SP
- 2014
- LANDSCAPIFICATION, RH Contemporary, New York, NY
- 2013
- Texture/Parameter, LAXART, Los Angeles, CA
- 2007
- Preview, Gehry Partners, Los Angeles, CA
- Multipliticies, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
- New Gallery, Thom Andriola, Houston, TX
- 2005
- Samantha Thomas, Patricia Faure Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Group Exhibitions
- 2021
- Good Company: The Remix, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2020
- Staycation, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2019
- Frieze New York, with Anat Ebgi, NY
- The Conversation, Anat Ebgi at Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
- 2018
- Pussy, King of Pirates, Maccarone, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2017
- Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- Untitled, with Anat Ebgi, San Francisco, CA
- 2016
- Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2015
- Salon NO.13, Marine Projects, Venice, CA
- 2013
- Landscape, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami, FL
- 2012
- MOCA Fresh, MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
- Ghost Town, L&M Arts, Venice, CA
- 2011
- THE DELTA, curated by Alexys Schwartz, Alexys Schwartz Projects, Los Angeles, CA
- Speculative Materialism, D-block projects, Long Beach, CA
- 2010
- Venice Artists, Here Is Elsewhere Gallery, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, CA
- 2009
- Uli and Lucrecia's lustige gruppenausstellung MIT party, Five Thirty Three, Los Angeles, CA
- 2008
- 5 Year Anniversary Show, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
- Ebb and Flow, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
- 2006
- LA Remix, Galerie Dominique Fiat, Paris, FR
- LA Now, Galerie Dominique Fiat, Paris, FR
- (Keep Feeling) Fascination, curated by Julie Joyce, The Luckman Fine Arts Complex, LA, CA
- 2005
- Pink, Patricia Faure Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Residencies
- 2018
- After & Again, Oaxaca, Mexico
Selected Press
- 2016
- Sharon Mizota, “Folded, pleated, burned, torn: Artist Samantha Thomas’ tactile webs of intrigue,” Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2016.
- Lisa Adams, “Art Los Angeles Contemporary 2016: Through the Eyes of a Painter,” Huffington Post, January 29, 2016. (Link)
- 2015
- Daniel Cabrera, “Who is Samantha Thomas?,” Bustle, September 14, 2014.
- 2014
- Elizabeth Weinberg, “California Dreamin’”, Baku Magazine, Autumn 2014.
- “Inaugural exhibitions: 9 Nov 2013 — 25 Jan 2014 at RH Contemporary Art in New York, United States,” Wall Street International, November 2014.
- 2013
- Catherine Damman, “Samantha Thomas at LAXART,” Art in America, November 22, 2013.
- Raka Sen, “5 Emerging Artists From RH Contemporary Art,” Complex, November 9, 2013. (Link)
- Fan Zhong, “Restoration Hardware Gets Contemporary,” W Magazine, November 7, 2013. (Link)
- “Q&A with Artist Samantha Thomas,” New York Spaces, Autumn 2013.
- Sam Cochran, “RH Contemporary Art Gallery Opens in New York,” Architectural Digest, October 31, 2013.
- Dawn Chan, “Restoration Hardware’s Next Move? A Quarterly Journal for Art Lovers,” T Magazine, October 30, 2013.
- Alice Gregory, “A Home Furnishings Visionary Takes On High Culture,” T Magazine, October 3, 2013.
- Nikki Grattan, “Samantha Thomas,” In the Make, September 2013.
- Johnie Gall, “Venice Beach Surfer Pushes Boundaries of Traditional Canvas Art,” Foam Magazine, September 19, 2013.
- 2011
- Reggie Casagrande, “State of Mind: Samantha Thomas, LipstickTracez, August 19, 2011.
Acrylic on canvas on panel Diameter 44 inches / 111.8 cm
Acrylic on canvas on panel Diameter 37.5 inches / 95.3 cm
Acrylic on canvas on panel Diameter 32 inches / 81.3 cm
Acrylic on canvas Diameter 40 inches / 101.6 cm
Acrylic on canvas, Diameter 22 inches / 55.9 cm
Acrylic on canvas, stacked 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm
Acrylic and thread on canvas 59.8 x 84 inches / 151.8 x 213.4 cm
Acrylic on canvas Diameter 79 inches / 175.3 cm
Acrylic on canvas 37 x 37 inches / 94 x 94 cm
Acrylic, rope on canvas 22 x 20 x 5 inches / 55.9 x 50.8 x 12.7 cm
Acrylic, oil, thread, and linen on canvas, 42 x 36 inches / 106.7 x 91.4 cm
Thread and acrylic on canvas 20 x 13 inches / 50.8 x 30.5 cm
Acrylic on canvas 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm
Acrylic, oil, thread, and linen on canvas, framed 50 x 40 inches / 127 x 101.6 cm
Acrylic on canvas 12 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 3 inches / 31.8 x 24.1 x 7.6 cm
Acrylic, thread on linen 12 x 9 1/2 inches / 30.5 x 24.1 cm
Linen, thread, acrylic and oil on canvas 46 x 38 inches / 116.8 x 96.5 cm
Thread, acrylic, on canvas 44 x 33 inches / 111.8 x 83.8 cm
Acrylic on burlap 14 x 11 inches / 35.6 x 27.9 cm
Linen, thread, and acrylic on canvas 60 x 75 inches / 152.4 x 190.5 cm
Acrylic, thread and charcoal on canvas over panel 48 x 34 inches / 121.9 x 86.4 cm
Acrylic, thread, burlap and canvas 10 x 8 inches / 25.4 x 20.3 cm
Acrylic, thread and canvas 44 1/2 x 44 1/2 inches / 113 x 113 cm
Acrylic, thread and charcoal on canvas over panel 44 x 34 inches / 111.8 x 86.4 cm
Acrylic and thread on canvas over panel 53 x 49 x 5 1/2 inches / 134.6 x 124.5 x 14 cm
Acrylic on Linen 72 x 48 inches / 182.9 x 121.9 cm
Acrylic and thread on canvas, framed 60 x 90 inches / 152.4 x 228.6 cm
Thread, acrylic and linen on canvas 60 x 84 inches / 152.4 x 213.4 cm
Acrylic and thread on canvas 55 x 46 inches / 139.7 x 116.8 cm
Acrylic, oil and thread on canvas 48 x 36 x 5 inches / 121.9 x 116.8 x 12.7 cm
Thread on canvas 72 1/2 x 60 x 4 1/2 inches / 184.2 x 152.4 x 11.4 cm
Texture/Parameter, Installation view at LAXART, 2013
Installation view at RH Contemporary Art, 2013
BIOGRAPHY
Samantha Thomas’ artistic practice is unique and idiosyncratic. Restraining herself to a palette of raw canvas, thread and acrylic paint, Thomas’ work explores the play between common studio materials and abstraction. Jagged extrusions, folded thresholds and frenetically woven strands of thread transform her canvases into paintings that are, at once, physical, architectural and sculptural. While each piece defies the flatness of the canvas, her work still speaks to the language and legacy of painting and drawing.
EXHIBITIONS
Staycation, April 7 – May 30, 2020.
Complex Systems of Communication, March 19 – April 23, 2016
CV
Samantha Thomas
- 1980
- Born in McAllen, Texas.
- Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Education
- 2004
- BFA Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
- 2016
- Complex Systems of Communication, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- ARCOmadrid, with Anat Ebgi, Madrid, SP
- 2014
- LANDSCAPIFICATION, RH Contemporary, New York, NY
- 2013
- Texture/Parameter, LAXART, Los Angeles, CA
- 2007
- Preview, Gehry Partners, Los Angeles, CA
- Multipliticies, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
- New Gallery, Thom Andriola, Houston, TX
- 2005
- Samantha Thomas, Patricia Faure Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Group Exhibitions
- 2021
- Good Company: The Remix, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2020
- Staycation, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2019
- Frieze New York, with Anat Ebgi, NY
- The Conversation, Anat Ebgi at Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
- 2018
- Pussy, King of Pirates, Maccarone, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2017
- Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- Untitled, with Anat Ebgi, San Francisco, CA
- 2016
- Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2015
- Salon NO.13, Marine Projects, Venice, CA
- 2013
- Landscape, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami, FL
- 2012
- MOCA Fresh, MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
- Ghost Town, L&M Arts, Venice, CA
- 2011
- THE DELTA, curated by Alexys Schwartz, Alexys Schwartz Projects, Los Angeles, CA
- Speculative Materialism, D-block projects, Long Beach, CA
- 2010
- Venice Artists, Here Is Elsewhere Gallery, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, CA
- 2009
- Uli and Lucrecia's lustige gruppenausstellung MIT party, Five Thirty Three, Los Angeles, CA
- 2008
- 5 Year Anniversary Show, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
- Ebb and Flow, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
- 2006
- LA Remix, Galerie Dominique Fiat, Paris, FR
- LA Now, Galerie Dominique Fiat, Paris, FR
- (Keep Feeling) Fascination, curated by Julie Joyce, The Luckman Fine Arts Complex, LA, CA
- 2005
- Pink, Patricia Faure Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Residencies
- 2018
- After & Again, Oaxaca, Mexico
Selected Press
- 2016
- Sharon Mizota, “Folded, pleated, burned, torn: Artist Samantha Thomas’ tactile webs of intrigue,” Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2016.
- Lisa Adams, “Art Los Angeles Contemporary 2016: Through the Eyes of a Painter,” Huffington Post, January 29, 2016. (Link)
- 2015
- Daniel Cabrera, “Who is Samantha Thomas?,” Bustle, September 14, 2014.
- 2014
- Elizabeth Weinberg, “California Dreamin’”, Baku Magazine, Autumn 2014.
- “Inaugural exhibitions: 9 Nov 2013 — 25 Jan 2014 at RH Contemporary Art in New York, United States,” Wall Street International, November 2014.
- 2013
- Catherine Damman, “Samantha Thomas at LAXART,” Art in America, November 22, 2013.
- Raka Sen, “5 Emerging Artists From RH Contemporary Art,” Complex, November 9, 2013. (Link)
- Fan Zhong, “Restoration Hardware Gets Contemporary,” W Magazine, November 7, 2013. (Link)
- “Q&A with Artist Samantha Thomas,” New York Spaces, Autumn 2013.
- Sam Cochran, “RH Contemporary Art Gallery Opens in New York,” Architectural Digest, October 31, 2013.
- Dawn Chan, “Restoration Hardware’s Next Move? A Quarterly Journal for Art Lovers,” T Magazine, October 30, 2013.
- Alice Gregory, “A Home Furnishings Visionary Takes On High Culture,” T Magazine, October 3, 2013.
- Nikki Grattan, “Samantha Thomas,” In the Make, September 2013.
- Johnie Gall, “Venice Beach Surfer Pushes Boundaries of Traditional Canvas Art,” Foam Magazine, September 19, 2013.
- 2011
- Reggie Casagrande, “State of Mind: Samantha Thomas, LipstickTracez, August 19, 2011.