Samantha French

Born and raised in north central Minnesota, Samantha French graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2005. French’s current body of work explores the idea of escape, the tranquility and nostalgia for the lazy summer days of her childhood. The series is inspired by Samantha’s own reflections and memories of her childhood summers spent in the lakes of Northern Minnesota. French actively exhibits her paintings and is included in many private and public collections throughout the country while her work has garnered extensive international and national press. She is a full-time painter and keeps a studio in New York’s Hudson Valley.

"My current body of work is focused on swimmers underwater and above. Using vague yet consuming memories from my childhood summers spent immersed in the tepid lakes of northern Minnesota, I attempt to recreate the quiet tranquility of water and nature; of days spent sinking and floating, still and peaceful. These paintings are a link to my home and continual search for the feeling of the sun on my face and warm summer days at the lake. They are my escape, a subtle reprieve from the day-to-day. At the same time, I am drawn to an idealistic time before my own, where swim caps and wool swimsuits were commonplace. This combination of memory, observation and photography has allowed me to preserve the transitory qualities of water and remembrance."

Resume

2019 Winter Swim, Rubine Red Gallery, Palm springs, CA

2019 O+ Festival, Mural Artist, Kingston NY

2018 Wausau Contemporary Art Museum, Wausau WI

2018 Myrtle Beach Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, FL

2017 Collections, De Dee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, MA

2017 ETA Nahcotta, Portsmouth NY

2016 Escaore Sirona Fine Art, Hallandale Beach FL

2015 Surfacing, Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona, MN

2014 Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2012 Splash, Todd James Gallery, Provincetown, MA

2012 Endless Summer, Platform LES, New York NY

2012Sea Change Cont., Todd James Gallery, Provincetown MA

2012 Sea Change, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis MN

2011 Open Swim, Left Bank Gallery, Essex, CT

2009 New Work, Ridgewater College Gallery, Willmar, MN

2008 New Works, Toomer Gallery, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN

2006 New Painting, Central Lakes College, Brainerd, MN

Group Exhibitions

2014 Rarity GallerySummer Salon Show, Mykonos, Greece

2014 Coast to Coast, New York Design Center, NY, NY

2013 ArtMRKT San Francisco / Tanner Hill Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2013 WOMANHOOD/UNRESTRICTED, TNC Gallery, New York, NY

2013 Beautifully Boring, Tanner Hill Gallery, Chattanooga TN

2012 Continued exhibition, Stark + Kent Gallery, Palm Springs CA

2012 Beautifully Boring, Tanner Hill Gallery, Chattanooga TN

2012 Barnes and Thornburg, Minneapolis, MN

2011 Cool, TNC Gallery, New York, NY

2011 125th Anniversary, MCAD Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2011 Plein Aire, Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2011 Contemporary Classics, Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2011 Recent Work, 801 Artist Lofts, Minneapolis, MN

2010 Painting in Place, Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

2010 Unwind, Lana Santorelli Gallery, New York, NY

2009 Emerging Artists Show, Rabbit Hole Studios, Brooklyn, NY

2009 Summer Group Show, Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN