Samantha Arnull lives in Austinmer with her family and Lira the Italian greyhound. She works across different artistic disciplines, making drawings, sculptures and assemblage. She loves hardware stores and scouring through forgotten junk in antique stores. Her work is an intricate inquiry into the relationship between materials and found objects, space and absence.
Samantha trained at the Bauhaus (in Weimar, Germany) in fibre art, sculpture, and drawing. She balances texture, shadow and form in a systematic process of gathering and taking away.
Samantha was awarded the ‘Happiness Prize for the Little Things’ Art Prize in 2021 at the Saint Cloche Gallery in Paddington, Sydney. In 2022, Saint Cloche invited Samantha to exhibit in a group show, BEST LIFE. Her work is now available through the gallery.
Also in 2022 Samantha presented a major survey show entitled What kind of times are these at the Clifton School of Arts, showing sculptural, installation and wall works.
Her work on paper was selected for 2023 FLOW Contemporary Watercolour Prize at the Wollongong Art Gallery.
Samantha works as a teacher in public education while also teaching Art with GoCreateArt in Thirroul. She also facilitates UOW Learning Labs and presents workshops in her studio in assemblage, sculpture and watercolour.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am always working on several works at once, across multiple mediums. The Colour Field wall works on show at the Scarborough Art Show are my quiet in-between works. I like to draw with objects and in this instance I’ve been collecting the most memorable and beautiful Cuisenaire rods, used in primary schools in the 60s and 70s to teach maths (I only remember building towers with them). And now, making the Colour Fields is a creative flow – I am compelled to think in shapes.
My broader art practice involves making assemblage and sculpture… this is where my heart and skills thrive.
Why do you choose this medium?
I am a collector of objects and am interested in experimenting with materials beyond their original purpose. I enjoy exploring their qualities and possibilities. Recent sculptural works have been an experimentation with casting concrete and plaster. I love the way the combination of the two parts turns from liquid to solid form.
What motivates you to create?
Making art is a compulsion – I have always been a maker and a collector of objects. I studied fine art, with three drawing classes per week, and this practice of drawing remains a significant influence on my artistic process. My art practice is structured around the combination of objects and materials that have been collected and curated.
What makes you curious?
Music and art are essential parts of my life. I love to arrive at galleries when they open to feel the space and view the work before the spaces are filled with others. I like the quiet – this experience feeds me and forms ideas for sculpture.
French/American sculptor Louise Bourgeois is a major influence on my work; also my mentor and friend, Associate Professor Jutta Feddersen (1931-2021). Her sense of play, expertise with materials and European design background form a major reservoir of inspiration, love for art and the discipline to make.
What do you enjoy about the Scarborough ArtShow?
Artists and craftspeople are essential, as is education and community. I am delighted to be involved.
The Scarborough ArtShow is back on the weekend of October 6-8 at Scarborough Public School, 371-381 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Scarborough, NSW 2515. Find out more at www.scarboroughartshow.com and book opening night tickets here