Materials: Acrylic and pastel on canvas
Artist Bio: Sam Rueter is a mixed media artist and painter who utilizes the female form to represent a larger narrative. Sam received a dual major in both Fine Arts and Arts Education at Marywood University in 2013. Her work has been shown both nationally and internationally, represented by Saatchi Art and The Other Art Fair for numerous events and exhibitions in New York City and London. She was nominated in Charleston for Best Visual Artist in 2019, and her work can be found in dozens of private collections around the globe. Rueter has independently curated and shown in the highly regarded art installation, CONSUMPTION, a contemporary immersive experience. She has collaborated with large creative projects such as ‘I am an Artist’ with The Other Art Fair and exhibited a live installation for The Entrepreneur’s Organization East Coast Conference. Her figurative work has been featured in online publications such as Marie Claire, Creative Boom, The Visionary Projects, A Women’s Thing, Art Reveal Magazine and more.
Artist Statement: Rueter forces the viewer to acknowledge the presence of form alongside the fragments that come with being confined to only the bodily facade. By looking beyond the physical form we often hold ourselves to, we formulate a comprehensive, honest look at what lies within the confines of the mind. Her work asks viewers to tap back into the visceral connection, the innate sense of bodily knowing- to actually inhabit and confront our roles. The body can speak volumes when we are willing to become observant and forthright.
Through this we can see the unconscious being processed through bodily motion. The way one holds their body in space is an insight to a deeper narrative; an unarticulated language. This communication can be a glimpse into our emotional state; how does our body store trauma? Love? or Grief? The work is a confrontation of the unconscious portrayal found beneath the surface of relation, autonomy, materialism, sensory exploration, and emotional regulation. Rueter’s work exposes the power of observing; the idea that we all have experiences—buried beneath the death of our embodiment– waiting to be unearthed.