Samuelle Richardson
Biography
I study faces. The habit came from riding the New York Subway and countless hours of staring across the aisle at people staring back at me. In the studio I gravitate towards portraits that are loosely rendered but recognizable. I often draw people in photographs, searching for good bones and subtleties in attitude. I skip over subjects that are neat and polished in favor of the careworn faces that have lived their years.
A while ago my painting studio became unusable and I decided to carry on by exploring a new medium. I chose fabric for the Heads series, keeping the esthetic from my drawing and painting. I was curious about the three-dimensional format where subjects have more than one face as they are viewed from all sides under different shades of light. The use of fabric makes sense to me as the crush and pull of skin over bone and the textural stitching bring to mind scarred flesh. Scars can be desirable or grotesque. I think of my own scars as badges of honor.
Selecting the fabric is like preparing a collage as I select groups of color and texture that support each other. The quality of stitching varies according to the character of the piece, ranging from measured and subtle to coarse like MASH surgery. I feel that modeling the armature is fundamental to the work’s integrity and I count on spontaneous, unplanned characteristics to emerge. I have found that sometimes mistakes will change my work for the better and I allow them to remain throughout the process. Revising a piece may involve cutting, reshaping, or a change of material in the nearly completed work and the effect reminds me of a painter’s “pentimento”.
EDUCATION
The University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY
School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
New York Academy of Art, New York, NY
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2019
Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences
Rogers Fellowship for Textile Arts
2018
Studio System II, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance CA
EXHIBITIONS
2019
Encounters: Honoring the Animals in Ourselves, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
Beyond/Within, two-person exhibition, Launch LA, Los Angeles, CA, curated by Andi Campognone
LA Artcore 5th Annual Juried Exhibition, LA Artcore Annex, Los Angeles, CA
Earth Angels in Woven Stories, MOAH Lancaster, Lancaster, CA
Forest Bathing, The Loft at Liz’s, Los Angeles, CA, curated by Betty Ann Brown
Ghost Dogs, solo exhibition in Peace on Earth, MOAH Lancaster, Lancaster, CA
2018
All Media 2018, Irvine Fine Art Center, Irvine, CA
Hecho a Mano, LA Art Association Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA, Jill Moniz juror
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery Juried Exhibition 2018, Los Angeles, CA, Jonathan Griffin, Jamillah James and Steven Nelson jurors
Apochrapha, LA Art Association Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
Art Speaks! Lend Your Voice, Arena One Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, Women’s Caucus for Art, Jill Moniz juror
Trappings, LA Art Association Gallery 825, Los Angelles, CA
Bunk, LA Art Association Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
Ping Pong Exhibition Project, LA Art Association, LA Art Show Modern+Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2017
Pop Surreal Playhouse, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, CA
All Media 2017, Irvine Fine Art Center, Irvine, CA
It’s a Wonderful World, Groundspace Project, Los Angeles
It Takes a Village, CA 101, Redondo Beach, CA
PUBLICATIONS
Falling James, Art Pick: JOY RAY AND SAMUELLE RICHARDSON: BEYOND/WITHIN, LA Weekly Arts, September 6, 2019
Betty Ann Brown, Peace on Earth at MOAH, ART AND CAKE LA, February 17, 2019
Lawrence Gipe, Final Round Up: Studio System II at Torrance Art Museum, ART AND CAKE LA, August 8, 2018
GENIE DAVIS, STUDIO SYSTEM II AT TORRANCE ART MUSEUM: AUDIENCE WITH A MUSE, DIVERSIONS LA, JUNE 30, 2018
David S. Rubin, Editor’s Roundtable, Visual Art Source, June 29, 2018
Lawrence Gipe, Studio Systems II at Torrance Art Museum: Half Time, ART AND CAKE LA, June 18, 2018
Karen Robes Meeks, Studio Systems II – “Anything But Typical”, Daily Breeze Torrance, June 14, 2018
Genie Davis, “Art Speaks, Lend Your Voice” at Arena 1 Gallery, ART AND CAKE LA, March 6, 2018
Dave Barton, The 10 Best Shows of the Worst Year Ever, OC Weekly, December 28, 2017
Dave Barton, Ten Works Worth Seeing at Irvine Fine Arts Center’s All Media 2017, OC Weekly, October 19, 2017
Ron Shelton, Artist Samuelle Richardson, USA: Ghost Dogs, High Art Fridays, June 20, 2017
GENIE DAVIS, SAMUELLE RICHARDSON: OF FINE ART AND FABRIC, DIVERSIONS LA, JUNE 19, 2017
Bondo Wyszpolski, CA 101’s “It Takes a Village” opens Friday, Easy Reader News, June 1, 2017
