Biography:
I am Samantha Russell, born in Flint, Michigan and currently living and working in Southeast Michigan after a lot of moving around. I am the daughter of an artist and mechanic, so my life was filled with socially perceived opposites that were introduced to me in a way that showed everything art was and could be. Born in the the 1980's to a generationally poor family I learned to appreciate a simpler way of living. As society around me rapidly advanced with technology, I organically developing many skills used in my art practice. After a late start, I studied sculpture in Detroit, and Minneapolis, earning her terminal degree at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. After graduation I was awarded an internship with the Kunstvereine program and spent 2 months in Würzburg, Germany as assistant to President of the Arte Noah. Since returning to Southeast Michigan in 2019 I have rebuilt a robust art practice that continues the important legacy of hand made objects and the bodily experience in a time of increasing digital dependancy.
Statement:
I am Samantha Russell, a sculptor from Southeast Michigan. I approach each piece with curiosity which allows me to grow and adapt as I work. I primarily use fiber and clay to create hand-built sculpture from traditional techniques involving my physical strength and labor. My sculptures stand to represent my emotional response to my lived experiences. Over time they become relics of time, space, and potential born from my near obsessive time spent working the materials. The slow hand worked techniques I use allow me to process my intangible lived experiences and give them form. I offer moments of respite from life’s struggles and choose to highlighting beauty, comfort, quiet, and humor with my stripped down, honest sharing of self. My appreciation of the time spent and emotions shared with my my commitment to honesty create familiarity and compassion through a community of share unspoken experiences.
Bibliography:
“What Punk Taught Me” is a glimpse into the collectively found freedom of the punk experience in North America. The book showcases the cultural and societal significance of punk through an anthropological lens in order to further reiterate what the subculture is and always will be: principles built on collaboration, DIY and, most of all, a desire to step outside of the norm and resist mainstream conventions.
Samantha Russell Contributed Chapter 5, Punk Art: A Culture of Concepts
Review and interview by: Alicia Eler Star Tribune - Twin Cities Minnesota MAY 24, 2017 — 12:18PM
Barbed Magazine is a contemporary art magazine in Metro Detroit. Barbed features studio visits, mini show reviews, and artists’ works who live in the region. Founded in September 2014, Barbed promotes the work of artists from emerging, LGBTQ, female, and other minority communities. Barbed is a limited edition publication, printed twice annually; in the spring and winter.
Curriculum Viatae:
Exhibition Record:
Solo Shows
09/2016 Finding my Feelings, Sculpting Experiences, Minneapolis MN
Group Shows
07/2026 Past & Future: A Sculptural Look at Art, Mount Clemens, MI
07/2026 (tentative) Third Annual Group Exhibition, Dearborn, MI
08/2025 (tentative) Annual Group Exhibition, Westland, MI
01/2025 Michigan Annual LII, Mount Clemens, MI
11/2024 Presencia: A One Year Anniversary, Detroit, MI
08/2024 Unveiled, Jackson, MI
05/2024 (tentative) Group Exhibition, Detroit, MI
10/2023 Biennial Staff Exhibition, Detroit, MI
04/2022 Hatchback 16, Hamtramck, MI
10/2021 La Gatita Amable, Detroit, MI
05/2021 Broken (America) An Art Pop-up, Detroit, MI
05/2021 Macomb County Art Teacher Show 2021, Mount Clemens, MI
04/2021 Hatchback 15, Hamtramck, MI
01/2021 Michigan Annual XLVIII, Mount Clemens, MI
11/2020 Worldwide Juried Online Art Show, online
02/2019 Ojos Rojos, Detroit, MI
12/2019 Macomb Faculty and Staff, Warren, MI
12/2019 Cariño, Detroit, MI
03/2018 Traditional/Contemporary, Inver Hills, MN
10/2017 Sculpture X, Detroit, MI
05/2017 8-Bit, Hamtramck, MI
05/2017 Thesis Exhibition, Minneapolis, MN
03/2017 Women, Detroit, MI
02/2017 Trump: Backward-Forward, Minneapolis, MN
01/2017 Disruption: 2017 Volunteer Biennial, Minneapolis, MN
10/2016 littleSCULPTURE, Pittsburgh, PA
09/2016 AP-OP-TO-SIS, Minneapolis, MN
09/2016 COnfluence, Regis Center for the Art, Minneapolis, MN
03/2016 MCAD MFA at SOOVAC, Minneapolis, MN
01/2016 Minnesota Mean: The Students Take Measure, Minneapolis, MN
Awards
2025 Artist in Residence, Michigan Legacy Art Park
2024 Honorable Mention, Michigan Annual LII
Curation
08/2025 (tentative) Annual Group Exhibition, Westland, MI
04/2018 - Traditional/Contemporary, Inver Hills, MN
Professional Work Experience
2020 - Freelance Artists, Display Group, Detroit, MI
2020 - Freelance Artists, Chef Mike Album Cover, MI
2020 - Adjunct Instructor, Saint Clair County Community College, Port Huron, MI
2019-2020 - Adjunct Instructor, Macomb Community College, Warren, MI
2019 - Art Coordinator, Macomb Community College, Warren, MI
2017 - Intern, Kunstverein Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
2016 - Installation Intern; Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN
2016 - Exhibition Installer; Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
2015-17 - 3D Shop assistant; Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN
Lectures
2025 - PCA/ACA, New Orleans
2024 - SECAC, Atlanta
2024 - PCA/ACA, Chicago
2023 - SECAC, Richmond
2023 - PCA/ACA, San Antonio
2022 - PCA ACA, Virtual
2021 - PCA ACA, Virtual
2018 - Visiting Artists, University of Wisconsin Stout, Menomonie, WI
2017 - Sculpture X Symposium, Demystifying Grad School, Detroit, MI
Education
2017 Master of Fine Art Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis MN
2015 Bachelor of Fine Art Honors Wayne State University, Detroit MI
2012 Associate of Art, Macomb Community College, Warren MI
2012 Associate of General Studies, Macomb Community College, Warren MI