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
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
- 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.
Continental Drift #5, 2018
Acrylic, oil, thread, and linen on canvas
42 x 36 inches
Texture Study, 2017
Thread and acrylic on canvas
20 x 13 inches
Blood Orange, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
20 x 16 inches
Continental Drift #4 , 2017
Acrylic, oil, thread, and linen on canvas, framed
50 x 40 inches
Texture Study, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
12 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 3 inches
Continental Drift #3, 2017
Acrylic, thread on linen
12 x 9 1/2 inches
Continental Drift #2 , 2017
Linen, thread, acrylic and oil on canvas
46 x 38 inches
Complex Systems #8, 2014-2015
Thread, acrylic, on canvas
44 x 33 inches
Texture Study, 2017
Acrylic on burlap
14 x 11 inches
Cartography #7 , 2017
Linen, thread, and acrylic on canvas
60 x 75 inches
Landscapification #17 , 2016
Acrylic, thread and charcoal on canvas over panel
48 x 34 inches
Cartography #6, 2016
Thread, acrylic and linen on canvas
60 x 84 inches
Cartography #1 (NS), 2016
Acrylic, thread, burlap and canvas
10 x 8 inches
Complex Systems #4, 2016
Acrylic and thread on canvas, framed
60 x 90 inches
Untitled, 2016
Acrylic, thread and canvas
44 1/2 x 44 1/2 inches
Complex Systems #5, 2014-2015
Acrylic and thread on canvas
55 x 46 inches
LANDSCAPIFICATION #16, 2015
Acrylic, thread and charcoal on canvas over panel
44 x 34 inches
Somewhere in Between, 2015
Acrylic and thread on canvas over panel
53 x 49 x 5 1/2 inches
Untitled (Vortex) #1
Acrylic, oil and thread on canvas
48 x 36 x 5 inches
LANDSCAPIFICATION #6, 2012-2013
Thread on canvas
72 1/2 x 60 x 4 1/2 inches
Complex Systems of Communication, Installation view, 2016
Complex Systems of Communication, Installation view, 2016
Complex Systems of Communication, Installation view, 2016
Complex Systems of Communication, Installation view, 2016
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
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
- 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.