Samantha Walrod
Red + Black Flower Clock, 2022, MM/Panel, 48 x 48 in.
Samantha Walrod’s work is influenced by similarities and differences between imagined and reconstructed environments, with the figurative elements often created from images of the Canadian wilderness.
Walrod uses many layers of paint, collage, photography and inks, as tactility is a very important element of her practice. Images are incorporated with collage and digital technologies, while maintaining the exploration of paint. In reconstructing disparate images from various sources including art history, popular culture and her own photos, Walrod addresses the cultural construction of nature. The act of collage brings construction to the surface of Samantha Walrod’s artworks; the edges of ripped paper, slight tonal difference in the photographs and the addition of paint and mixed media on top of the images all act as a filter or an interpretation of the subject matter.
The layers of materials act as a symbol of the mind’s ability to retain detailed information, while at the same time, leaving certain elements unclear. In her own words, Walrod “reacts to the paintings with each layer or erasure, adjusting contrasting activity and quiet, opacity and transparency, chaos and balance”. Tactility is very important to the artist’s practice.
Samantha Walrod received her MFA Painting from U of A in 2013, and obtained her BFA from AUArts in 2008 with distinction. In 2018, Walrod was awarded the “RBC Work Room” residency at the Art Gallery of Alberta. Walrod’s work can be found in the collections of the Art Gallery of Alberta (Edmonton), Alberta Foundation for the Arts (Edmonton), University of Alberta (Edmonton), Peaks Hotel and Spa (Banff) and various private and public collections world-wide.
Samantha Walrod’s work is influenced by similarities and differences between imagined or reconstructed environments, with the figurative elements often created from images of the Canadian wilderness.
Walrod uses many layers of paint, collage, photography and inks, as tactility is a very important element of her practice. Images are incorporated with collage and digital technologies, while maintaining the exploration of paint. In reconstructing disparate images from various sources including art history, popular culture and her own photos, Walrod addresses the cultural construction of nature. The act of collage brings construction to the surface of Samantha Walrod’s artworks; the edges of ripped paper, slight tonal difference in the photographs and the addition of paint and mixed media on top of the images all act as a filter or an interpretation of the subject matter.
The layers of materials act as a symbol of the mind’s ability to retain detailed information, while at the same time, leaving certain elements unclear. In her own words, Walrod “reacts to the paintings with each layer or erasure, adjusting contrasting activity and quiet, opacity and transparency, chaos and balance”. Tactility is very important to the artist’s practice. Images are incorporated with collage and digital technologies, while maintaining the exploration of paint.
Samantha Walrod received her MFA Painting from U of A in 2013, and obtained her BFA from AUArts in 2008 with distinction. In 2018, Walrod was awarded the “RBC Work Room” residency at the Art Gallery of Alberta. Walrod’s work can be found in the collections of the Art Gallery of Alberta (Edmonton), Alberta Foundation for the Arts (Edmonton), University of Alberta (Edmonton), Peaks Hotel and Spa (Banff) and various private and public collections world-wide.
