July 2023 Art Exhibition

7artscafe welcomes "Sam Stocker" as our July 2023 artist.

SAM STOCKER

"In My Dreams You're Almost Here"

The title of this exhibition is inspired by the Depeche Mode mode album Music for the Masses (1987). This phrase which was suggested by an AI language model in relation to the music of Depeche Mode encapsulates the idea of the elusive and intangible nature of memory and emotion.

Over the past three years, my artistic focus has been on digital, acrylic, and oil paintings. I draw inspiration from 1980s computer games, films, literature, and art, and use objects and other artworks as catalysts for my work. Through my exploration of different forms and themes found through research, I have often focused on ideas related to aggression and masculinity, but I do not aim to express these ideas directly. Instead, I use them as a starting point and hope to soften them through the process of making.

As a painter, I start with a reference point but gradually obscure it over time. I become more responsive to my previous actions rather than the initial reference point, creating a record of the decisions I make over time. Each step leads to the next, resulting in a painting that embodies my artistic vision and reflects my individual approach to painting. By embracing the unknown and allowing the painting to guide me, I create works that are deeply personal and resonate with a wider audience.

For this exhibition, titled "In My Dreams You're Almost Here," I will take two different approaches. One will involve working directly from my research, using my findings as a reference point for my art. The other will involve obscuring these references, allowing my creative process to guide me towards a more abstract and intuitive result. Through these two distinct approaches, I hope to create a body of work that reflects both my analytical and intuitive sides as an artist.