Sam Kampelman

Sam Kampelman

Sam Kampelman is an abstract representational painter living in St.Louis, MO with his wife, son, and two dogs. He grew up in St. Louis, then went on to study painting at Maryland Institute College of Art for his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Indiana University(Bloomington) for his Master of Fine Arts. Art is an integral part of Kampelman's life and recently he has shifted from a full time house painting entrepreneur to a full time artist.

The abstract-representational work I create is influenced by my curiosity about spaces and beings we have yet to discover. As as artist, I like to think about how things in my imagination could actually exist in a far-away place.
My interdisciplinary process begins by cutting and gluing recycled materials such as cardboard, egg cartons, cups, etc. to build sculptures. I then suspend the sculptures from string and place them in an enclosed constructed space with colored lights. Once I have arranged the setup, I photograph the work from different angles in order to create references for my paintings. The color in my artwork is vivid to depict playful exploration and the reflection of light, shadows, and temperature shift of color makes the process of painting challenging and engaging.