ON VIEW: December 6, 2021 - January 30, 2022*
*This installation is on display in the north stairwell of the Evanston Art Center.
Samuel Schwindt is a Chicago-based sculptor and writer. Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, he received his BFA in Studio Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. He is a current artist-in-residence at Chicago Art Department.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Surface based aesthetics and materials deceit the viewer in my work. In the details, I communicate nuanced stories from misunderstood histories and miscommunicated contemporary existences.
I use leather and light to explore the connections between intimacy, detachment, and power. Leather, past and present, represents various concepts: luxury, power, eroticism, authority, and lastly humankind’s connection to the animal and plant kingdoms. Light controls perception and creates atmospheres. Through artificial and natural light, environments are created and destroyed. Together, leather and light push and pull from each other to represent power-struggles.
My practice is fueled by research and collaboration. My main material, leather, is charged. It has histories and implications far beyond my practice or one discipline. In my research I have repeatedly sought out experts — in indigenous art history from the Pueblo of Isleta Archive, in queer erotics from the Leather Archives and Museum and Gerber / Hart library, and material techniques from Chicago-based leather workers. Knowing what I don’t know and seeking out knowledge facilitates my art.